mgoblog - juwann bushell-beattyhttp://mgoblog.com/taxonomy/term/20365/0
en2014 Recruiting: Juwann Bushell-Beattyhttp://mgoblog.com/content/2014-recruiting-juwann-bushell-beatty
<p><strong>Previously: </strong><a href="http://mgoblog.com/category/tags/2013-recruiting-profiles">Last year's profiles</a>, CB <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2014-recruiting-brandon-watson">Brandon Watson</a>, CB <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2014-recruiting-jabrill-peppers">Jabrill Peppers</a>, LB <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2014-recruiting-jared-wangler">Jared Wangler</a>, LB <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2014-recruiting-chase-winovich" target="_blank">Chase Winovich</a>, LB <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2014-recruiting-noah-furbush">Noah Furbush</a>, LB <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2014-recruiting-michael-ferns">Michael Ferns</a>, DL <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2014-recruiting-brady-pallante">Brady Pallante</a>, DL <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2014-recruiting-bryan-mone" target="_blank">Bryan Mone</a>, DL <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2014-recruiting-lawrence-marshall" target="_blank">Lawrence Marshall</a>, OL <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2014-recruiting-mason-cole" target="_blank">Mason Cole</a>.</p>
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<td colspan="4" align="center"><strong>Paramus, NJ – 6'6&quot;, 320</strong></td>
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<p align="center"><em>&#160;<img title="9-8-2013-paramus-cath-nj-28-0-gilmanmd-i-59[1]" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="9-8-2013-paramus-cath-nj-28-0-gilmanmd-i-59[1]" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/2014-Recruiting-Juwann-Bushell-Beatty_AAF6/9-8-2013-paramus-cath-nj-28-0-gilmanmd-i-591.jpg" width="256" height="366" /></em></p>
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<th>Scout</th>
<td>3*, NR overall <br />#50 OT</td>
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<th>Rivals</th>
<td>3*, NR overall <br />#33 OT, #11 NJ</td>
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<th>ESPN</th>
<td>4*, #142 overall <br />#11 OT, #4 NJ</td>
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<th>24/7</th>
<td>4*, NR overall <br />#23 OT, #10 NJ</td>
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<th>Other Suitors</th>
<td>UF, FSU, Miami, MSU, BC</td>
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<th><abbr title="you may remember me from such players as">YMRMFSPA</abbr></th>
<td>Logan Tuley-Tillman</td>
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<th>Previously On MGoBlog</th>
<td colspan="3"><a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-juwann-bushell-beatty" target="_blank">Hello post</a> from Ace.</td>
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<th>Notes</th>
<td colspan="3">Has outstanding &quot;what you talkin' about Willis&quot; face. Paramus Catholic (Peppers)</td>
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<p>Film</p>
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<p align="center"><font style="background-color: #eeeeee">Senior film:</font></p>
<p align="center"><iframe height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/mWdljnoVTaw" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p align="center"><font style="background-color: #eeeeee"><a href="http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1485105/juwann-bushell-beatty" target="_blank">Hudl page</a>.</font>&#160;</p>
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<p>Bushell-Beatty is always going to be The Other Paladin, what with being the high school teammate of one Jabrill Peppers. It's not out of the question that a couple of teams recruiting him did so with an eye on Woodson 2.0. But Bushell-Beatty is a quality prospect in his own right, a four star on two sites and the top tackle who isn't one on Rivals. And he did have offers from two of Florida's big three. </p>
<p>That's because he's an enormous gentleman. Most evaluations start with that fact. Clint <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Full-breakdown-of-Michigan-commit-Juwann-Bushell-Beatty--128675" target="_blank">Brewster</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>First off, Bushell-Beatty has <strong>outstanding size</strong> at about 6-foot-7 and 310-pounds. He has <strong>long arms</strong> and doesn’t carry a whole lot of extra weight on his frame. Bushell-Beatty has <strong>good flexibility</strong> and can bend for a 6-foot-7 player. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Scout's <a href="http://recruiting.scout.com/story/1349160-live-eval-film-ot-juwan-bushell-beatty?s=73" target="_blank">Brian Dohn</a>: </p>
<blockquote><p>Bushell-Beatty is big and long, and <strong>just getting around him is a challenge for some defenders</strong>. The 6-foot-6, 310-pounder does a good job blocking down the line of scrimmage and also spinning the defender to open holes in the running game, but he is most impressive in pass protection. …</p>
<p><strong>His arm length made it even more difficult to try and get around him</strong>, and once he was able to engage the defender, he didn't get allow him to get loose again.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Elsewhere, his coach calls him plain &quot;<a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/ncfrecruiting/on-the-trail/post?id=37520" target="_blank">humongous</a>,&quot; an Under Armor game evaluation praises his &quot;<a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Michigan-commits-take-on-the-U-A-Bowl--169225" target="_blank">outstanding size with a good frame</a>,&quot; and Brewster <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Class-of-2014-Final-Evaluation--175573" target="_blank">pops up again</a> to say he's an &quot;NFL sized offensive tackle with great range and physicality in the run game.&quot; This is his main appeal: if it works out you've got a guy the NFL will be lusting after.</p>
<p>His assets other than size are a little fuzzy. Some guys praise his pass protection; some say he needs to work on it. He does seem to be quite good at <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Michigan-commits-take-on-the-U-A-Bowl--169225">plowing furrows into the ground in the run game</a>: </p>
<blockquote><p>Had a physical punch in the running game and is able to get his long arms on defenders and lock into them. … Bushell-Beatty’s strength is the running game, where he can use his size to overpower people but he has the foundation to develop into a better pass-protector. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Tim Sullivan <a href="https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1556814">took in a Paramus game in person</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>He can move exceptionally well, and has the agility you'd expect out of a play with a much slimmer physique. He runs, does a good job blocking down, and keeps his feet moving in run blocking and against the pass rush. <br />Bushell-Beatty also has plenty of strength. Though his upper body is disproportionately small compared to the rest of him, he shows off a good punch, and drives well with his lower body to open cavernous holes for his running back.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That offhanded mention of a disproportionately small upper body is a large part of JBB's appeal. Line coaches of all varieties are the Sir Mix A Lot's of the college football world. Their ideal prospect is a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFzhjnjXc2o">weeble</a>, but they'll take humans who have exceptionally low centers of gravity for 6'6&quot; behemoths. JBB is a wide, wide human. </p>
<p align="center"><img title="1225063[1]" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="1225063[1]" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/2014-Recruiting-Juwann-Bushell-Beatty_AAF6/12250631.jpg" width="260" height="334" /><img title="1225068[1]" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="1225068[1]" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/2014-Recruiting-Juwann-Bushell-Beatty_AAF6/12250681.jpg" width="279" height="334" /></p>
<p align="center">via <a href="http://michigan.scout.com">GBW</a>.</p>
<p>True tackle types look ineffably weird; JBB looks weird. Long arms, an enormous waist, and a bottom-heavy build: <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/2013-recruiting-logan-tuley-tillman">like Logan Tuley-Tillman</a> before him, Bushell-Beatty is straight off the NFL tackle assembly line. Er… midway through the NFL tackle assembly line. Actually rather close to the start of it. But they've got the frame together, and it looks great.</p>
<p><strong>Like a number of Michigan's recent tackle recruits, he comes with a series of question marks</strong>. His body isn't where you'd want it to be, and while this is often the case for high school OL he's a lot further away than, say, Mason Cole. This was true <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Michigan-commits-take-on-the-U-A-Bowl--169225" target="_blank">as late as the UA game</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Bushel-Beatty carries a little too much weight and could benefit by getting in better shape, as his foot-quickness started to lag in the passing game as the game went on. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Tim Sullivan <a href="https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1595156" target="_blank">noted something similar</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Physically, he possesses the size and attributes (arm length, athleticism in his feet) to develop into a bigtime college player down the road, but he also showed up as an unfinished product. He needs to work on re-shaping his body to trim fat and add muscle. That will help him in a variety of ways: he will be more flexible, more able to capitalize on his quickness, and much better in pass-blocking. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>And his coach says he's <a href="http://recruiting.scout.com/story/1363239-even-better-days-ahead-for-peppers-jbb?s=73" target="_blank">got to drop around 20 pounds</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p><strong><em>Sam Webb:</em></strong>&#160; What is the ideal playing weight?</p>
<p><strong><em>Chris Partridge:</em></strong>&#160; “Those college coaches know a lot more than I do, but I would guess that he should be around 305 – between 300 and 310.&#160; He is probably heavy right now.&#160; He is around 325 and I think he has to cut down a little bit, but those guys will handle it.&#160; They’ll get him ready.&#160; That’s their livelihood.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Given recent precedent that should only take a year with Wellman. Getting to the right weight is only part of the process though; once your there they continue adding strength and subtracting body fat until you're out the door. </p>
<p>Bushell-Beatty is also raw. He's only played football for four years, with his first two spent on JV, so you get a lot of items about <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Full-breakdown-of-Michigan-commit-Juwann-Bushell-Beatty--128675">consistency and pad level</a>: </p>
<blockquote><p>Bushell-Beatty can improve by being more consistently aggressive on every play. He can benefit by having better posture and a flat back in his stance. He can also improve by keeping a lower pad level, particularly against many of the shorter defenders he will face.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When Bushell-Beatty gets it right he tends to hilariously bury players as you see in the video above; off the highlight film he's much more variable. Think of him as Willie Henry, high school OL. I <a href="http://recruiting.scout.com/story/1349160-live-eval-film-ot-juwan-bushell-beatty?s=73">mean</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>While run blocking, Bushell-Beatty <strong>has a tendency to stand up right</strong> and that will cost him in a big way in college. He needs to have better knee bend, and not reach for the defender, which compromises his balance and ability to finish off blocks.</p>
<p>Strength is also something that needs to develop, and that will make him more explosive and punishing as a run blocker.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That evaluation finishes with a statement that he's going to need a number of years before he approaches a finished product. </p>
<p><strong>The good news is that JBB is coming along as quickly as you'd hope a relative newbie would</strong>. When Sam Webb caught up with his coach midseason, Bushell-Beatty was on the verge of being held out because of injury but still <a href="http://recruiting.scout.com/story/1331584-scouting-peppers-bushell-beatty-w-video?s=73" target="_blank">performing above his coaches' expectations</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>&quot; We elected to let him go and he is playing awesome ball.&#160; I can’t wait until he gets healthy over this bye week to see him play.&#160; We counted two games ago that he had 12 pancake blocks.&#160; That’s insane!”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>&#160;<a href="http://recruiting.scout.com/story/1320839-live-eval-film-ot-bushell-beatty?s=73" target="_blank">Brian Dohn</a>: </p>
<blockquote><p>It can't be stressed enough how much improvement Bushell-Beatty made in the last year, and if he continues to make those strides he will play a big role at Michigan. Bushell-Beatty is a work in progress, and his length, his work ethic and his size make him an intriguing prospect.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>His coach at the UA game thought he picked things up quickly but also threw in a bit of a worrying not related to <a href="http://recruiting.scout.com/story/1361858-ua-game-bushell-beatty-a-quick-learner?s=73" target="_blank">what's currently his other major drawback</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>“I can tell where he’s gotten better from yesterday to today,” Hegamin said. “So what that does say, at least is he learns quicker, he learns very fast.” …</p>
<p>“Honestly its just effort,” Hegamin said. “I just want to see him constantly be better at how he goes about his business on a daily basis.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That &quot;at least&quot; in there gives you an indication of his preparation level relative to the other guys at the game. </p>
<p><strong>At Michigan he's slated to be a tackle</strong>. Michigan needs him there what with his predecessors also in the boom-or-bust mold and his frame is one of his major assets. He gets considerably less attractive as a prospect if he's not using those long arms to fend guys off on the edge. </p>
<p>With Cole immediately sliding into a backup left tackle spot, it looks like JBB will live and die with his ability to play right tackle. (As always, we're ignoring the Shane-is-a-lefty thing for simplicity.) Fortunately for him it seems like he's got the skills for that spot. His <a href="http://recruiting.scout.com/story/1361858-ua-game-bushell-beatty-a-quick-learner?s=73" target="_blank">UA coach</a>: </p>
<blockquote><p>“Definitely, in my opinion, he’s a right tackle,” Hegamin said. “He’s got that big, thick right tackle build, I wouldn’t even be surprised to see him at guard some because he’s a pretty big, stout guy.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Michigan-commits-take-on-the-U-A-Bowl--169225">Another UA evaluator</a> noted that while he played left tackle in that week of practice, long term he seems like a better fit on the right. In general that means he's more of a road grader than a nimble pass protector. FWIW. </p>
<p>The last word from <a href="https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1595156" target="_blank">Sullivan</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>In the end, Bushell-Beatty was about what we expected: a very high-ceiling player who has his work cut out for him to reach that potential.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Put him in a meat locker for three years and see what you've got. </p>
<p align="left"><strong>Etc.:</strong> BC fans were <a href="http://www.bcinterruption.com/boston-college-football-recruiting-class-2014/2013/4/29/4282378/juwann-bushell-beatty-michigan-football-boston-college-florida" target="_blank">excited to make his top three</a>. A kid from Paramus <a href="http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news/article/2630099545983050338/juwan-bushell-beatty-of-paramus-catholic-signs-to-play-football-at-michigan-on-national-signing-day/" target="_blank">signed up with Slippery Rock</a>! Not so <a href="http://vimeo.com/91990538" target="_blank">basic training</a>. </p>
<p align="left"><strong>Why Logan Tuley-Tillman? </strong>Not ideal to grab a guy who hasn't seen the field, I know, but Tuley-Tillman was another bottom-heavy monster tackle with technique and weight issues who a lot of folks rated highly because his upside is top-notch. Other folks looked at how far away from his upside he was and gave him the three-star-meh ranking. </p>
<p align="left">Tuley-Tillman had a much more dramatic weight swing that saw him adding weight upon arrival whereas Bushell-Beatty is going to have to cut some; either way both guys are high-quality clay to mold. <em>And</em> they've got hyphenated names. Is that like comparing Nik Stauskas to a white guy?&#160; </p>
<p><strong>Guru Reliability:</strong> High. Everyone's basically saying the same things, uber-scouted high school, all star appearance. The spread in the rankings is an eye of the beholder thing for a guy who is very much a boom-or-bust guy. </p>
<p><strong>Variance: </strong>High. Two plus years away from any reasonable chance of seeing the field. </p>
<p><strong>Ceiling:</strong> High. NFL first round pick upside. </p>
<p><strong>General Excitement Level: </strong>Moderate. Add another lottery ticket to the tackle spots. JBB is a good bet for Michigan's situation, as he should not have to play until he is an upperclassman and if he does not make it they're likely to have someone else who does. </p>
<p><strong>Projection: </strong>Obvious redshirt.</p>
<p>After, he's likely to have a long wait. Michigan has Magnuson, Braden, Tuley-Tillman, and Fox for two years after his redshirt, plus Cole. Whoever breaks through at tackle this year should keep JBB in the on-deck circle for another two years. </p>
<p>His first real shot should be as a redshirt junior, when one or two tackle slots are likely to open up when Mags and Braden graduate. No one can tell you if he's going to be the obvious choice or obviously not yet. Ask again later.</p>
<a name="more"></a>http://mgoblog.com/content/2014-recruiting-juwann-bushell-beatty#comments2014 recruiting profilesjuwann bushell-beattyFri, 01 Aug 2014 17:34:20 +0000Brian88585 at http://mgoblog.comTeam 135's Fresh Faceshttp://mgoblog.com/content/team-135s-fresh-faces
<p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" src="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/a9/d0/5f/a9d05f0f7505ce09255bdabfe7fc7331.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 323px;" /></p>
<p>Schembechler Hall will be buzzing all morning as National Letter&rsquo;s of Intent arrive in the football offices via fax machine. Team 135 plans to add nine new members as the remaining verbal commits make it official and put pen to paper.</p>
<p>We checked in with each of them last night:</p>
<p><strong>CB Jabrill Peppers &ndash; Paramus Catholic High School &ndash; Paramus, NJ </strong></p>
<p>With coaches trying to persuade Peppers away from the Wolverines into the eve of National Signing Day I wasn&rsquo;t surprised that Jabrill didn&rsquo;t respond to me, but I think his tweet was enough to put Wolverine fans at ease about his final decision.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Y&#39;all know what I say!! <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23GoBlizzyBlueManeeee&amp;src=hash">#GoBlizzyBlueManeeee</a></p>
<p> &mdash; Breez (@JabrillPeppers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JabrillPeppers/statuses/430903022844407808">February 5, 2014</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Paramus Catholic is closed due to heavy snowfall but according to TomVH, Jabrill plans to sign his letter of intent anyway with the actual celebratory ceremony being moved to Thursday.</p>
<p><strong>DE Lawrence Marshall &ndash; Southfield High School &ndash; Southfield, MI </strong></p>
<p>Marshall&rsquo;s recruitment was one of the more eventful processes in the class with an initial commitment to the Buckeyes followed by a decommitment and then a presumed new commitment to Michigan State which never happened, only to actually wind up a Wolverine.</p>
<p>Marshall had a simple yet heartfelt message about tomorrow, &ldquo;Man, I just can&rsquo;t wait to be a Wolverine.&rdquo; Marshall will sign his letter of intent at Southfield High School at 9:30 a.m., followed by a 3 o&rsquo;clock interview with Sam Webb, and finally another commitment ceremony at 6 p.m.</p>
<p><strong>LB Chase Winovich &ndash; Thomas Jefferson High School &ndash; Clairton, PA</strong></p>
<p>Long thought to be a Buckeye lean, Winovich decided to pledge to the Wolverines on the first day of June last summer. Last night Winovich sent some people into a frenzy when he cryptically tweeted, &ldquo;Decisions, decisions, decisions.&rdquo;</p>
<p>I asked Chase about that and he said with a laugh, &ldquo;That was just to rouse everyone out. Figured I&rsquo;d have some fun with a situation that is obviously very serious.&rdquo; He confirmed that he was all Michigan shortly after that. &ldquo;Just need to let the committee of sleep do the rest of the shoring up tonight.&rdquo; Winovich is a different kind of cat and his comments didn&rsquo;t change that perception.</p>
<p><strong>TE Ian Bunting &ndash; Hinsdale Central High School &ndash; Hinsdale, IL </strong></p>
<p>A lot of people are enamored with a 6&rsquo;7&rdquo; tight end who played mostly wide receiver in high school. Ian Bunting is just that and will be another big target for future Michigan quarterbacks to throw to. Ian could barely contain his excitement about tomorrow.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t wait! Today went by really slowly. I&rsquo;m excited to start this new chapter and I&rsquo;m proud to be a part of the Michigan family and Team 135.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Bunting will sign his letter of intent at 7:15 a.m. and the plan is to fax them immediately after. Once the paperwork is done Bunting knows that he&rsquo;s still several months away from being in Ann Arbor. &ldquo;I plan to do a lot of lifting and yoga. I&rsquo;m going to start lifting a lot once basketball is over and doing a lot of yoga to get in tip-top shape. Other than that, I&rsquo;m just going to enjoy the rest of my senior year with all of my friends and family.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>OL Juwann Bushell-Beatty &ndash; Paramus Catholic High School &ndash; Paramus, NJ </strong></p>
<p>While maybe not as famous as his Paramus teammate Jabrill Peppers, Juwann Bushell-Beatty reeled in some very solid offers before committing to Michigan almost a year ago. JBB expressed his readiness for National Signing Day.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited! It&rsquo;s been almost a year now waiting for this day. Being able to finally solidify this is going to be great. It just motivates me more to be great.&rdquo; Juwann was actually the one who told me of Paramus being out of school due to the snowstorm and the rescheduling of his signing ceremony. Even with school being cancelled Juwann plans to sign his letter early and get it sent in around 8 or 9.</p>
<p><strong>WR Moe Ways &ndash; Detroit Country Day School &ndash; Franklin, MI </strong></p>
<p>Out of all of the prospects I&rsquo;ve ever talked to, Moe Ways might&rsquo;ve been the one who seemed to want to be a Michigan Man more than anyone else. He reinforced that notion when I asked him about signing his letter. &ldquo;Man I&rsquo;m just so blessed and excited to make everything official and officially become a Michigan Man and Wolverine.&rdquo; Moe will sign his letter around noon and then will celebrate the rest of the day with his family.</p>
<p><strong>LB Noah Furbush &ndash; Kenton High School &ndash; Kenton, OH </strong></p>
<p>Furbush is one of the very few recruits I&rsquo;ve never had any actual contact with. He has managed to stay under the radar and out of the spotlight throughout his entire recruitment and even when he committed there weren&rsquo;t many fireworks involved. He comes in at almost 250 lbs. and people who have seen him play in person and know his body type suspect he&rsquo;ll play with his hand in the dirt at some point in college.</p>
<p><strong>S Jared Wangler &ndash; De La Salle Collegiate &ndash; Warren, MI </strong></p>
<p>Son of legendary Michigan quarterback Johnny Wangler, Jared Wangler was once committed to Penn State but once the Wolverines came a&rsquo;callin&rsquo; it was inevitable that he&rsquo;d be part of this class. As you&rsquo;d expect his final decision is one that holds a special place in his heart for obvious reasons. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an indescribable feeling. It&rsquo;s been my dream since I was a little kid. I&rsquo;m excited to officially become a Michigan Wolverine.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Wangler actually has a busy morning scheduled before his letter will be signed. He&rsquo;s got a 5 a.m. wake-up planned in order to play in his intramural basketball game at 6 a.m. at DLS. After hoopin&rsquo; he&rsquo;ll head home to clean up and prepare for his 9 a.m. signing ceremony. I asked Jared if anything noteworthy happened during his recruitment from other coaching staffs and he had a rather interesting reply. &ldquo;It was pretty funny that Bill O&rsquo;Brien swore to me that he&rsquo;d be at Penn State for all of my four years.&rdquo; Yeah&hellip;about that.</p>
<p><strong>DT Brady Pallante &ndash; Barron Collier High School &ndash; Naples, FL </strong></p>
<p>Not everyone was a fan of the Brady Pallante commitment, but when a guy is almost a clone size and story-wise of Mike Martin, I&rsquo;d say let&rsquo;s at least give him a chance first. Given the fact that Pallante was first thought of as a greyshirt commit, his emotion toward tomorrow was easily detected. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m truly blessed to have this opportunity. Not many people can say they&rsquo;re going to college on a full ride. Honestly, I&rsquo;m still amazed at the opportunity I was given.&rdquo; Pallante will sign his letter first thing in the morning and plans to have it faxed by 7:30 a.m.</p>
<p align="center">--------------------------------------</p>
<p align="left">Of course the elephant in the room is the decision of DL Malik McDowell. I personally don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s choosing Michigan and I haven&rsquo;t in a long time. It&rsquo;s been made pretty clear that Malik himself wants to go to Michigan State, but his parents don&rsquo;t want him in East Lansing. Does that mean they&rsquo;ll keep him in-state and he&rsquo;ll go Blue? I don&rsquo;t think so, but I honestly don&rsquo;t know. At this point I wouldn&rsquo;t be surprised by him choosing any of his four finalists. McDowell will be a Wolverine, a Spartan, a Seminole, or a Buckeye and at this point your guess is as good as anyone&rsquo;s.</p>
<p align="left">Finally, will there be any Norfleet-like surprises on signing day this year? I haven&rsquo;t heard anything but when I asked that exact question to one of the coaches, he replied with &ldquo;You never know.&rdquo; Coach speak? Really not knowing? Hoping? We shall see.</p>
<a name="more"></a>http://mgoblog.com/content/team-135s-fresh-faces#commentsbrady pallantechase winovichian buntingjabrill peppersjared wanglerjuwann bushell-beattylawrence marshallmoe waysnoah furbushteam 135Wed, 05 Feb 2014 13:38:52 +0000Brandon Brown85087 at http://mgoblog.comMonday Recruitin' Transcends Fred Jacksoninghttp://mgoblog.com/content/monday-recruitin-transcends-fred-jacksoning
<h3>
I Have To <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruAi4VBoBSM" target="_blank">Praise You</a> Like I Should</h3>
<p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" rel="lightbox" src="http://d3j5vwomefv46c.cloudfront.net/photos/large/831405728.gif?1388701365" /></p>
<p>High School All-American week is officially over. <strong>Jabrill Peppers</strong> unofficially won the week. Just ask ESPN&#39;s Tom Luginbill, who <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/ncfrecruiting/on-the-trail/post/_/id/49949/askloogs-why-peppers-is-impressive" target="_blank">wrote this</a> in response to a question about the most impressive Under Armour practice performer [emphasis mine]:</p>
<blockquote><p>[Peppers] is more than capable of playing both ways if needed, but as far as cover corners go, <strong>he is a more explosive version of Dee Milliner</strong>, and we love that he welcomes contact too. He is mature and knows that there are high expectations for him to perform.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Or <a href="http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfrecruiting/on-the-trail/post/_/id/49772/ua-game-notebook-rbs-make-noise" target="_blank">ask his Team Nitro coach</a>, former NFL head coach and defensive back Herm Edwards&mdash;and his friend, some guy named Deion:</p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;<strong>It&rsquo;s not even close. He&rsquo;s the best [UA All-American defensive back] I&rsquo;ve coached. I called Deion [Sanders] over and said look at that guy, and Deion saw the same thing</strong>,&quot; Edwards said. &quot;[Robert] Nkemdiche was really good last year, he was a big guy who could run and [Peppers] is comparable to that as far as skill level at the position he&rsquo;s playing. I played that position and coached that position for a long time and he&rsquo;s a special talent.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Or ask Scout, which <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1361986.html" target="_blank">named Peppers the top practice performer of the week</a> on either team while noting that this year&#39;s crop of defensive backs was particularly strong.</p>
<p>Rivals stands as the least bullish outlet on Peppers after the UA game, and all they did was name him <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1592070" target="_blank">Sunday&#39;s #3 performer</a>, <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1592501" target="_blank">Monday&#39;s #1 performer</a>, and <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1592870" target="_blank">Tuesday&#39;s #5 performer</a>, and <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1593740" target="_blank">the actual game&#39;s #9 performer</a> for Team Nitro before giving him the third spot overall for Team Nitro on the week <a href="http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1593934&amp;PT=4&amp;PR=2" target="_blank">behind Da&#39;Shawn Hand and Ermon Lane</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>Playing in his first national-level event, Peppers was surrounded by intrigue from the moment he arrived in Florida. As it turned out, it didn&#39;t take him long to live up to his billing. <strong>Peppers, the No. 2 overall prospect in his class, was dominant in every practice and was as aggressive and spirited as any player on the field. He struggled a bit in Thursday&#39;s game but didn&#39;t allow a big play all week. Peppers also blocked a field goal that was ultimately negated because of an all-star-game specific rule. </strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>In addition to the negated blocked field goal (above)&mdash;illegal because rushers on kicks weren&#39;t allowed to go inside their man in the UA Game, which... okay&mdash;Peppers had a couple passes defended, returned two kickoffs for 65 yards (one a 41-yard burst to midfield), and took a few snaps as a wildcat quarterback, though he couldn&#39;t break anything big offensively in a pretty ugly game overall, as high school all-star games tend to be.</p>
<p>Interestingly, Scout omitted both Hand and Lane from their top ten overall list, with neither cracking the top two of their respective position groups. It&#39;s safe to say Peppers made a strong argument that he deserves consideration for the top overall spot in the 2014 class.</p>
<p><em><strong>[Hit THE JUMP for a whole lot of content from the All-American games, Michigan&#39;s latest 2014 offer, an update on George Campbell, a potential second quarterback in the &#39;14 class, and more.]</strong></em></p>
<a name="more"></a><!--break--><!--break--><h3>
Michigan Has Other Commits, Too!</h3>
<p>Sorry, sometimes I have to remind myself of these things. After his strong week of practice, Peppers was named a Team Nitro captain; also receiving that honor was quarterback <strong>Wilton Speight</strong>, who also started the UA game. He didn&#39;t have <a href="http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2014/01/jabrill_peppers_has_a_big_play.html" target="_blank">the gaudiest stat-line</a>&mdash;2-for-6, 63 yards, an interception, and eight rushing yards on three attempts&mdash;while spearheading the first couple possessions for Team Nitro; that interception, which came on a pass to the end zone that looked to be open, wasn&#39;t his fault, as noted by intended receiver (and former U-M target) Jeb Blazevich:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I still love u man RT&ldquo;<a href="https://twitter.com/JebBlazevich">@JebBlazevich</a> let me clear something up. Wilts&#39;s interception was MY FAULT! I slipped on the turf and wasn&#39;t there&rdquo;</p>
<p> &mdash; Wilton Speight (@WiltonSpeight) <a href="https://twitter.com/WiltonSpeight/statuses/418911294264467456">January 3, 2014</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p><p>As for the week of practice, Speight stood out in earning the captaincy and starting role, and Scout&#39;s Scott Kennedy noted his <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1361633.html" target="_blank">improvement from previous combine outings</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p><span class="storybody">All the Elite 11 things kind of run together so I don&rsquo;t remember which of the camps I saw him at, but I remember seeing him before and thinking, okay, solid, but <strong>I do not remember the tight spiral I am seeing this week</strong>.&nbsp; I remember it fluttering a little bit more. &nbsp;<strong>So everything that he is doing, he has gotten better at.</strong>&nbsp; That is all you ask out of a player, especially one that is 6&rsquo;4&rdquo; plus, 200 plus pounds with an arm like his.<strong> Is he going to keep improving?&nbsp; Yes, absolutely he has.&nbsp; He is setting his feet well.&nbsp; The ball is coming out.&nbsp; It is coming out hot.&nbsp; It is coming out with a tight spiral.&nbsp; It is coming out accurate.&nbsp; What more could you possible look for?</strong></span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Speight even showed enough mobility to escape the pocket a couple times in the UA game and gain positive yards; he&#39;s no dual-threat, obviously, but he&#39;s also not John Navarre back there.</p>
<p><strong>Bryan Mone </strong>had a relatively quiet game, though that didn&#39;t mean he played poorly; at the nose, he did his job, holding up against double-teams, displaying a good motor, and consistently moving linemen into the backfield, something he also did in practice one-on-ones:</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><iframe class="vine-embed" frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://vine.co/v/hVnj79ampX7/embed/simple" width="480"></iframe></p>
<script async src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Reports were mixed on tackle <strong>Juwann Bushell-Beatty</strong>, who displayed a lot of raw talent but was beaten regularly in both practice and game settings, mostly by quick defensive ends beating him to the edge. It wasn&#39;t a wholly bad week for JBB, though; Team Nitro&#39;s offensive line coach told GBW&#39;s Kyle Bogenshutz that &quot;he learns very fast,&quot; though he <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1361858.html" target="_blank">may not be a blindside protector at the next level</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p><span class="storybody">&ldquo;Definitely, in my opinion, he&rsquo;s a right tackle,&rdquo; Hegamin said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got that big, thick right tackle build, I wouldn&rsquo;t even be surprised to see him at guard some because he&rsquo;s a pretty big, stout guy.&rdquo;</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Michigan&#39;s other three commits named to the game&mdash;<strong>Drake Harris</strong> (torn hamstring), <strong>Michael Ferns</strong> (shoulder), and <strong>Jared Wangler</strong> (shoulder)&mdash;all had to sit out due to injury. Harris, who didn&#39;t even travel to the game, and Ferns should get a nice boost to their rehab after enrolling early at U-M this week, joining Freddy Canteen, Mason Cole, Mone, Speight, and Brandon Watson. All three injured commits should be healthy for fall camp; Harris has the most serious injury and he sat out his entire senior season to make sure he&#39;s ready for 2014, while Ferns and Wangler <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1361621.html" target="_blank">both considered giving it a go in the UA game</a> ($).</p>
<p>Three other future Wolverines participated in postseason all-star games. <strong>Mason Cole</strong>&#39;s East team was on the wrong side of a 28-6 blowout in the Army All-American Game, though he stood out on an otherwise-struggling line to earn the #6 overall spot on Josh Helmholdt&#39;s list of <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1594412" target="_blank">the team&#39;s top performers of the week</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>Cole was <strong>one of the East&#39;s best offensive line performers all week, and he capped it with a great performance in Saturday&#39;s Army Bowl</strong>. While his fellow linemates were having a tough time corralling the West defensive line, the 6-foot-5, 275-pound Cole <strong>had not [sic] trouble handling his own assignments. He lined up at both left guard and right tackle, showing he was light on his feet, while also being strong enough to battle on the interior. </strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>He had at least one pancake block, to the delight of his future quarterback (Cole is #52):</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>What&#39;s the best thing about this pic?? Makes me so happy for the future <a href="https://twitter.com/MasonCole52">@MasonCole52</a> <a href="http://t.co/5Z5jDsHRMn">pic.twitter.com/5Z5jDsHRMn</a></p>
<p> &mdash; Wilton Speight (@WiltonSpeight) <a href="https://twitter.com/WiltonSpeight/statuses/419563451506491392">January 4, 2014</a></p></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><p>Finally, <strong>Lawrence Marshall </strong>and <strong>Chase Winovich </strong>participated in the Offense-Defense Bowl. While Winovich didn&#39;t make the cut, Marshall made Rivals&#39; list of the game&#39;s ten best players <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1594092" target="_blank">after recording a pair of TFLs and a quarterback hurry</a> ($).</p>
<h3>
Michigan (Finally) Offers Jeff Jones</h3>
<p class="rtecenter"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0cMOXFMkmIo?rel=0" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p>As Michigan has pursued (and offered) three-star Cal RB commit <strong>Vic Enwere</strong>, I&#39;ve wondered if they&#39;d consider going after four-star Minnesota commit <strong>Jeff Jones</strong>, whose stock has steadily risen while his commitment status has softened. After Jones&mdash;who visited campus last summer after participating in the Sound Mind Sound Body camp&mdash;won team MVP honors in the UA game with an outstanding performance as both a runner and receiver out of the backfield, the Wolverines came through with that offer, and <a href="http://recruiting.scout.com/2/1362720.html" target="_blank">per Scout&#39;s Allen Trieu there&#39;s mutual interest</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p><span class="storybody">&quot;I like Michigan a lot,&quot; he said, &quot;just knowing the history of the program.&quot; </span></p>
<p>...</p>
<p><span class="storybody">When asked if he would visit Michigan again or give them a harder look in his recruitment, Jones said, &quot;Yes, for sure.&quot; </span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span class="storybody">The Wolverines have plenty of competition for Jones; he has an official set to Florida for January 24th and plans to visit Michigan State, while Iowa State is also a factor (though we&#39;ll see if that lasts now that he&#39;s pulling in more impressive offers). If a visit materializes&mdash;and it sure looks like that will happen&mdash;then I think the Wolverines are in a good position to flip his commitment.</span></p>
<h3>
<span class="storybody">George Campbell Update: So You&#39;re Saying People Overuse The &quot;So You&#39;re Saying...&quot; Line</span></h3>
<p><span class="storybody">It&#39;s never a good sign when a player decommits from a school, especially when said player resides in an entirely different area of the country that&#39;s chock-full of football powerhouses. That&#39;s the case with <strong>George Campbell</strong>, and I have very little in the way of optimism that he&#39;ll find his way back into the class. That said, he&#39;s still talking like Michigan is a contender for his services, <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1593135" target="_blank">per Tim Sullivan</a> ($):</span></p>
<blockquote><p><span class="storybody">&quot;Michigan is still in the mix. [With Mason Cole], that&#39;s something he does. Even though when I decommitted he was kind of upset, but at the same time he understood. As a friend, he&#39;s still pulling for me to come for Michigan. He pretty much gave me some good advice on that recruitment. Pretty much saying, &#39;hey, Go Blue,&#39; and &#39;you know where home is.&#39;&quot;</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Wilton Speight, albeit a biased source, believes Campbell will end up back in the fold, and shed a little light on why Campbell decommitted in the first place, <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1361225.html" target="_blank">per Sam Webb</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>When asked if he believes the five-star pass catcher will eventually rejoin the Maize &amp; Blue fold Speight didn&rsquo;t hesitate.</p>
<p>&ldquo;<strong>Oh I think for sure</strong>,&rdquo; he quickly responded.&nbsp; &ldquo;The relationship he has with Mason and his family, and then already with our recruiting class&hellip; it was, we thought special.&nbsp; I think that he still thinks that too, but it was a tough situation.&nbsp; <strong>His uncle wanted him to take some more visits and I think George thought it was best for him too because he is so young.</strong>&nbsp; We&rsquo;ve got to let George do what he thinks is best for him and respect his decisions. <strong>We&rsquo;re here for him if and when he decides to come back.</strong>&rdquo;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While Speight&#39;s optimism is slightly encouraging, the meddling uncle aspect&mdash;especially given heavy interest in Campbell from SEC and ACC powerhouses&mdash;is pretty disconcerting if you&#39;re a Michigan fan, even more so after taking into account how fellow East Lake receiver Artavis Scott&#39;s recruitment went down.*</p>
<h3>
Happy Trails/Etc.</h3>
<p>With Bill O&#39;Brien off to the Houston Texans, Penn State now lacks a coach, which has put the commitment status of several 2014 prospects up in the air. That includes four-star FL QB <strong>Michael O&#39;Connor</strong>, who remains committed to PSU but has heard from other programs according to his former high school coach, <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/ncfrecruiting/on-the-trail/post?id=50040&amp;refresh=true" target="_blank">per TomVH</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>O&rsquo;Connor remains committed to Penn State, but other programs have reached out to gauge his status. <strong>Tedondo has spoken with Syracuse, Michigan State and even Michigan about O&rsquo;Connor&rsquo;s situation.</strong></p>
<p> &ldquo;<strong>I talked to Coach [Al] Borges and he told me that it was down to two guys. He liked Michael O&rsquo;Connor a lot, but they were set on taking one quarterback in this class</strong>,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re off until Tuesday, so I sent him Michael&rsquo;s film and they&rsquo;re going to talk about it as a staff and get back to me. <strong>They were set on one quarterback, but they&rsquo;re going to talk about it.</strong>&rdquo;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If a scholarship is available, I don&#39;t think it&#39;d be a bad idea at all for Michigan to try to add a second quarterback in this class, assuming Speight doesn&#39;t mind the competition. We&#39;ve all witnessed in the past few years (okay, several years) how quickly QB depth can become an issue.</p>
<p>The Glenville duo of <strong>Erick Smith </strong>and <strong>Marshon Lattimore </strong>pulled something of a Will Campbell this week in the leadup to the Army game, with each saying they were re-thinking their respective decisions to announce their commitments during the game. Whether they legitimately had second thoughts or just wanted to drum up drama is now a moot point&mdash;<a href="http://www.landgrantholyland.com/2014/1/4/5232346/erick-smith-commits-to-ohio-state" target="_blank">both</a> <a href="http://www.elevenwarriors.com/2014/01/31640/marshon-lattimore-is-number-20" target="_blank">committed</a> to Ohio State during the game, as expected.</p>
<p>Another Happy Trails goes out to CA LB <strong>Dwight Williams</strong>, once thought to have serious U-M interest, though he never ended up on campus&mdash;he <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1594181" target="_blank">committed to in-state school UCLA</a> during the Army game.</p>
<p>--------------<br />
<em>*For those who don&#39;t remember, Scott was thought to be Michigan-bound until Clemson swooped in and nabbed him late.</em></p>
http://mgoblog.com/content/monday-recruitin-transcends-fred-jacksoning#comments2014 recruiting2015 recruitingbryan moneerick smithgeorge campbelljabrill peppersjeff jonesjuwann bushell-beattylawrence marshallmarshon lattimoremichael o'connorrecruiting is legit yorecruiting roundupwilton speightMon, 06 Jan 2014 19:01:37 +0000Ace84326 at http://mgoblog.comThursday Recruitin' Wants A QB/KRhttp://mgoblog.com/content/thursday-recruitin-wants-qbkr
<h3>
Michigan Probably Leads For A Five-Star Dual-Threat QB. Wait, What?</h3>
<p class="rtecenter"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="420" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jJKINeD4Oi0" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>Michigan&#39;s 2015 quarterback situation is the subject of much conjecture and little more, as the only prospect offered at the position&mdash;California five-star <strong>Josh Rosen</strong>&mdash;has stated that he&#39;s not interested in the Wolverines. Several names have been thrown out there as potential backup options, with player types ranging from pocket statues to Gardner-like dual threats. If Michigan wants to go the latter route&mdash;and Al Borges seems more open to the idea now that the NFL is heading in that direction&mdash;then a five-star option has emerged in CA ATH <strong>Kevin Dillman</strong>, <a href="http://247sports.com/Article/Inside-Word-Leaders-for-Californias-best-152344" target="_blank">per 247&#39;s Ryan Bartow</a> [free article, also contains sources saying that <strong>JuJu Smith</strong> currently favors Notre Dame and Alabama over the field right now, and Michigan gets mentioned among the leaders of several 2015 prospects]:</p>
<blockquote><p><b>3- <a href="http://247sports.com/Player/Kevin-Dillman-20292">Kevin Dillman</a>, 5-star QB, La Mirada (Calif.)</b></p>
<p>Michigan and Nebraska are his Top 2. If Michigan offers, the Wolverines could likely land a commitment this winter or spring.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p><i>&ldquo;I grew up watching Tom Brady. If there was one offer I could wish for it would be Michigan. I really like their coaching staff,&rdquo; - 5-star QB <a href="http://247sports.com/Player/Kevin-Dillman-20292">Kevin Dillman</a>, La Mirad</i><em>a</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Please and thank you, right? Well, we&#39;ll see. Dillman&#39;s sophomore highlights (above) show a lot more of the athlete side&mdash;the first clip is a kick return&mdash;than the downfield passing aspect that Borges will focus on heavily when deciding whom to offer. Personally, I&#39;d love to see Michigan go the dual-threat route, and if Dillman has enough to work with as a passer, he seems like the best available&mdash;and highly interested&mdash;option.</p>
<p>Nobody seems to have a clear picture of the 2015 QB pecking order after Rosen, though, and I&#39;m assuming the coaches are hoping to evaluate several options more extensively once junior film starts rolling in. With room for just one QB in the class, this approach makes sense&mdash;the coaches can&#39;t afford to miss.</p>
<p>One such option is Brother Rice QB <strong>Alex Malzone</strong>, who&#39;s off to a strong start this season. He&#39;s the <a href="http://247sports.com/Article/Big-Ten-Football-Recruiting-Notebook-152491" target="_blank">headlining visitor for Minnesota</a> in a quiet weekend for uncommitted prospects and another prospect who&#39;s likely to commit if offered, though I think Dillman and a handful of other quarterbacks are higher priorities. Malzone is mentioned as one of five Midwest juniors &quot;on the rise&quot; this season&mdash;along with Cass Tech RB <strong>Mike Weber</strong>&mdash;<a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1332217.html" target="_blank">by Allen Trieu</a>.</p>
<p><em><strong>[Hit THE JUMP to see which Michigan commit is nominated for Gatorade&#39;s national player of the year&mdash;yeah, you probably guessed it&mdash;plus evaluations of a few commits and more.]</strong></em></p>
<a name="more"></a><!--break--><!--break--><h3>
There&#39;s a 2% Chance That You&#39;re About To Freak Out</h3>
<p>Sam Webb catches up with <strong>Jabrill Peppers</strong> to talk about his <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1331753.html" target="_blank">recruitment of <strong>Da&#39;Shawn Hand</strong></a> ($) [emphasis mine]:</p>
<blockquote><p><span class="storybody"><strong><em>Sam Webb:</em></strong>&nbsp; Why are you confident Michigan is going to get Da&#39;Shawn Hand? </span></p>
<p><span class="storybody"><strong><em>Jabrill Peppers:</em></strong>&nbsp; &ldquo;He is down for the education first and then the athletics.&nbsp; He wants to be an engineer and Michigan has the top engineering school, one of the top engineering schools.&nbsp; He definitely sees the bigger picture.&nbsp; I think he is open to see all the guys that we have already and just coming in and joining our unit.&nbsp; <strong>Bottom line is there is no place like Michigan.&nbsp; I know he felt that on that visit.&nbsp;</strong> He was able to do one thing that I couldn&rsquo;t do and that was to attend the Michigan and Notre Dame game.&nbsp; That atmosphere was crazy, I know it was crazy and I know he was loving it.&nbsp; You can fit any college stadium in there at least one time.&nbsp; I&rsquo;m feel it when I&rsquo;m out there playing.&nbsp; <strong>I&rsquo;m 98% sure that we are going to get him.</strong>&rdquo; </span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span class="storybody">So that&#39;s nice.</span></p>
<p><span class="storybody">Meanwhile, Peppers is up for Gatorade National Player of the Year honors, and thusly <a href="http://www.usatodayhss.com/article/gatorade-national-poy-watch-jabrill-peppers" target="_blank">gets a nice feature in </a><em><a href="http://www.usatodayhss.com/article/gatorade-national-poy-watch-jabrill-peppers" target="_blank">USA Today</a>.</em></span></p>
<p><span class="storybody">While we&#39;ve heard plenty about Peppers, his Michigan commit teammate, OT <strong>Juwann Bushell-Beatty</strong>, often gets overshadowed in the process.</span> Tim Sullivan caught last weekend&#39;s Paramus Catholic-Cleveland St. Ignatius matchup and came away impressed with JBB&#39;s athleticism and strength while <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1556814" target="_blank">noting a few areas for improvement</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>It is easy to see why Bushell-Beatty is not considered a finished product, however. <strong>In addition to a body that needs to be molded by a college strength and conditioning program, his technique could use some refining as well.</strong> He is a bit of a waist-bender, and puts his head down too frequently in run blocking, which can allow defenders to shed his blocks more easily. Many of his issues are typical of young linemen, and a redshirt year to get in the weight room and to learn technique should be enough to bring him up to speed.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Personally, I&#39;d much rather have an offensive line recruit with the requisite size, strength, and athleticism but in need of technique work than vice versa; this goes double for JBB, who moved &quot;exceptionally well&quot; despite having a &quot;bit of a belly,&quot; according to Tim&mdash;get him in the weight room and practice him up a bit and he could be a force.</p>
<p>In other commit-related stuff, 247 posted cut-ups of <strong>Freddy Canteen</strong> from last weekend:</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="420" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/oT3Du1b04AM" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>Aside from the fumble on the reverse, everything here looks very good: his route-running, acceleration, top speed, and hands all impress, and he looks to be an intelligent player as well&mdash;I like the way he works his way back to the quarterback when a play breaks down.</p>
<p>Finally, Tim also watched <strong>Shaun Crawford</strong>&#39;s dominant performance against Erie McDowell&mdash;I&#39;m pretty sure The Wolverine found a way to clone Tim, and the results have been great&mdash;and he <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1556065" target="_blank">concludes that the only thing keeping Crawford from potential five-star status is his size</a> ($). Crawford shows off everything you&#39;d want in a corner, though, including being a force in run support; even if he doesn&#39;t grow another inch, he&#39;s a top-notch prospect.</p>
<h3>
Etc.</h3>
<p class="rtecenter"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="420" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/duG2YOTFdLM" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>I&#39;ve been remiss in not posting these segments before, as they&#39;re ten minutes of TomVH covering pressing Michigan recruiting topics&mdash;this week&#39;s edition includes talk about Malik McDowell, Alex Malzone, and the 2015 quarterback class as a whole.</p>
http://mgoblog.com/content/thursday-recruitin-wants-qbkr#comments2014 recruiting2015 recruitingalex malzonefreddy canteenjabrill peppersjuwann bushell-beattykevin dillmanrecruiting roundupshaun crawfordThu, 03 Oct 2013 18:40:34 +0000Ace81862 at http://mgoblog.comHello: Juwann Bushell-Beattyhttp://mgoblog.com/content/hello-juwann-bushell-beatty
<p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" rel="lightbox" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8125/8693335298_61913195a2_o.jpg" style="height: 463px; width: 350px;" /></p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/SamWebb77/status/328896617614819331" target="_blank">According to Sam Webb</a>, Michigan just picked up their eighth commitment of the 2014 class&mdash;and third in the last week&mdash;in Paramus (NJ) Catholic OL Juwann Bushell-Beatty. Bushell-Beatty joins Mason Cole among offensive line commits in the class; like Cole, he also has an elite high school teammate being recruited heavily by the Wolverines&mdash;in his case, five-star corner Jabrill Peppers, for whom the recruiting tides appear to be shifting in Michigan&#39;s favor.</p>
<p><em>Update of the informative variety:</em></p>
<p><b>GURU RATINGS</b></p>
<table align="center" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<td>
<b>Scout</b></td>
<td>
<b>Rivals</b></td>
<td>
<b>ESPN</b></td>
<td>
<b>24/7 Sports</b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>
3*, #45 OT</td>
<td>
3*, #29 OT</td>
<td>
4*, 83, #10 OT,<br />
#120 Ovr</td>
<td>
4*, 90, #17 OT,<br />
#215 Ovr</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>There&#39;s a clear split in Bushell-Beatty&#39;s rankings, though Scout is more of an outlier here than they initially appear&mdash;the #28 OT on Rivals is a four-star, so JBB is just one spot away there. ESPN and 247, meanwhile, have him easily within their top <em>n</em> lists. The reason for the divide is almost certainly that Bushell-Beatty has played all of one season at the varsity level; until he amasses more game film and hits the camp circuit, opinions could be all over the place.</p>
<p>There&#39;s a similar disparity when it comes to his measurables: Rivals and Scout both list JBB at 6&#39;5&quot;, 295 pounds, while ESPN and 247 both have him at 6&#39;7&quot;, with the former listing him all the way up at 330 lbs. and the latter at 310.</p>
<p><strong>SCOUTING</strong></p>
<p>You&#39;ll be shocked to read that a player who&#39;s got one season of varsity football under his belt is described as &quot;raw&quot;&mdash;here by NJVarsity.com, which listed JBB <a href="http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1480595" target="_blank">as #14 in-state junior in March</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p><b>14.)</b> <i>OL</i> <a href="http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&amp;pr_key=136908">Juwan Bushell-Beatty</a> - Paramus Catholic<br />
Bushell-Beatty has a Division 1 frame and moves decently for someone his size. He is still a bit on the raw side, but last year was only his first playing at the high school varsity level. What he showed last year was just a glimpse as he has plenty of room to grow as an offensive tackle. He is just learning the finer points of the game but has enough athletic ability and natural tools to be considered a solid BCS-level prospect.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>ESPN&#39;s evaluation suggests that Bushell-Beatty could end up at either guard or tackle in college, <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/evaluation/_/id/171289/juwann-bushell-beatty" target="_blank">depending on his development in pass protection</a> ($) [emphasis mine]:</p>
<blockquote><p>Bushell-Beatty possesses good height and bulk as an O-Line prospect and with some time in a college weight program looks to have a frame that can still support a little more good size. <strong>In the run game he can smother defenders and gain more positional leverage, but when he gets good placement with his hands and keeps his pad level down he can push defenders off the line.</strong> He does need to work to <strong>improve placement and pad level </strong>as he can pop up, get tall, not roll his hips into blocks, stop his feet on contact and not consistently create the push he is capable of. When blocking down can wash defenders down the line of scrimmage. Can work to second level with good control and get a hat on targets in his track. In pass pro can use his length and strength well. Uses his reach well and displays very good upper-body strength and can deliver a violent punch that can knock edge rushes off course. <strong>Flashes the ability to punch and lock on, but would like to see that more from him.</strong> <strong>His kick step is effective enough, though he can turn shoulders a little quickly and be a bit of a waist bender but makes it tough for rushers to get into his frame.</strong> Flashes the ability to slide with rushers once locked on but demonstrates adequate lateral mobility. Displays good awareness and some finishing nastiness.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It&#39;s not a surprise to see pad level as an issue for a raw tackle prospect who may still be growing; that&#39;s something that should improve with experience, and same goes for most of the technical issues that ESPN points out in JBB&#39;s game. It sounds like his run blocking is currently ahead of his pass blocking, which is typical for a player at this stage and also bodes well should he kick down to guard.</p>
<p>Given this quote from Bushell-Beatty&#39;s head coach, it sounds like he&#39;s taken quite strongly to football after some initial trepidation, <a href="http://pennstate.247sports.com/Article/Juwann-Bushell-Beatty-Goes-From-Raw-To-Prospect-102500" target="_blank">per 247&#39;s Steve Wiltfong</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>&ldquo;We were like listen buddy you&rsquo;re playing football,&rdquo; [Paramus Catholic head coach Chris] Partridge said. &ldquo;I give him all the credit in the world. We weren&rsquo;t easy on him. He pushed through it and it wasn&rsquo;t easy for him. He pushed through it and he&rsquo;s mean and he&rsquo;s getting it and it&rsquo;s good to see that as a coach. We took a chance with starting him and giving him that spot and it worked out.&rdquo;</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>&ldquo;He was very raw,&rdquo; Partridge began. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s now getting better and better. He&rsquo;s a kid that can develop and be a big-time national kid. If he makes the strides he made from last year to this year he&rsquo;ll blow up.&rdquo;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In case you&#39;re non sensing the theme at this point, JBB is very much a developmental prospect. With his frame and raw potential, he could grow into a special player, but he&#39;s going to need a few years to refine technique&mdash;with Michigan&#39;s recent offensive line recruiting, there are few places better suited to letting a prospect marinate for a while before they&#39;re ready to see the field.</p>
<p><b>OFFERS</b></p>
<p>Bushell-Beatty&#39;s list reveals that Michigan isn&#39;t the only school that sees big-time potential in him&mdash;Florida, Florida State, Miami (YTM), Michigan State, Rutgers, Tennessee, and West Virginia also extended offers before his commitment, and he also fielded interest from Ohio State, Penn State, and Pitt.</p>
<p><strong>HIGH SCHOOL</strong></p>
<p>Led by Jabrill Peppers, Paramus Catholic won last year&#39;s state title in the New Jersey Non-Public Group 4 division, which includes football powerhouses like Don Bosco Prep. Despite their recent success, Paramus Catholic hasn&#39;t produced a ton in the way of BCS recruits&mdash;before this 2014 group, only 2011 four-star DT Marquise Wright (Rutgers) and 2010 three-star OL Dan Foose (Florida State) committed to BCS schools since 2002, per the Rivals recruiting database.</p>
<p><b>STATS</b></p>
<p>Offensive lineman, no stats.</p>
<p><b>FAKE 40 TIME</b></p>
<p>No available 40 time, not that offensive linemen tend to run 40 yards in a straight line during game situations unless they happen to be donkey-riding Manti Te&#39;o.</p>
<p><b>VIDEO</b></p>
<p>Junior highlights:</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dGz9qElcY9k" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p><b>P</b><b>REDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE</b></p>
<p>It&#39;s hard to say anything definitive about a prospect who&#39;s played one year of varsity football. That said, I like what I see from Bushell-Beatty, who&#39;s got an ideal lineman frame and appears to be a natural when it comes to certain aspects of line play, most especially in how he uses his hands. He&#39;ll have to develop significantly in pass protection to become a blindside tackle option; the potential is there, but it seems more likely he&#39;ll slot in at right tackle (or left, if lefty Shane Morris is the QB) or bump down to guard.</p>
<p>Regardless of where he ends up, JBB will assuredly take a redshirt year and likely a couple years after that before he competes for a spot on the two-deep; Michigan has too much depth and talent on the line to expect a relative football newcomer to make a serious push for early playing time.</p>
<p><b>UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS</b></p>
<p>The Wolverines now have a couple of commits who could play multiple positions on the line: Mason Cole is likely a guard but could also play tackle, while JBB is ideally the opposite if he develops. Michigan should take one, perhaps two, more lineman and be set for this class, especially considering they took a sixth OL last year.</p>
<p>The other upshot, of course, is that Michigan has another edge in the recruitment of Peppers. At worst, the Wolverines appear to be neck-and-neck with Stanford, and only one of those schools has Peppers&#39; high school teammate in the fold. I still expect Peppers to visit Palo Alto before making a decision, but it&#39;s looking increasingly likely that he ends up in Ann Arbor. Yes, that would be very nice indeed.</p>
<a name="more"></a>http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-juwann-bushell-beatty#comments2014 recruitingcommitment postsjuwann bushell-beattyMon, 29 Apr 2013 15:54:23 +0000Ace78339 at http://mgoblog.comThursday Recruiting: What Day Is It Again Editionhttp://mgoblog.com/content/thursday-recruiting-what-day-it-again-edition
<h3>Basketball? Basketball</h3>
<p>Michigan's extremely-critical 2014 class has a couple of guys who already sport offers but have not committed for reasons that are unclear to me. I mean srsly, you can play for Pilot Walter White in a fun system and go to the Final Four. Commit already you guys. </p>
<p>IN SF <strong>Vince Edwards</strong>, a guy with a median ranking around 60, says he's down to Michigan and Purdue and <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1498854" target="_blank">is looking for love</a>. These things may not seem related, but they are. </p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;Just show me, you know?&quot; Edwards said. &quot;Just show me that you're interested. Just show me like you've been showing me.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Edwards on his finalists: </p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;I like both,&quot; Edwards said. &quot;Honestly, I like Michigan because I really think their offense fits my style. Being a 6-7 wing who can shoot, that really fits in with Coach Beilein. He likes guys who can do that, so I think I can really fit in well with him and his offense and he thinks so, too.</p>
<p>&quot;With Coach Painter, what I really like about Purdue is -- they're both actually great coaches -- but Coach Painter had to take some guys and develop them this year and you could tell by the way he coaches that he's a great coach. He can develop players really well.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Purdue's supposed to be in the tentative lead for some reason. I mean, what does Beilein have to do to prove he can develop guys? </p>
<p><img title="image" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="image" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Thursday-Recruiting-What-Day-Is-It-Again_8A12/image.png" width="281" height="184" /><img title="166017564.0_standard_352.0[1]" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="166017564.0_standard_352.0[1]" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Thursday-Recruiting-What-Day-Is-It-Again_8A12/166017564.0_standard_352.01.jpg" width="275" height="184" /></p>
<p>Maybe he has to have a who-dat postgrad point guard go off for 17 points in the national championship ga—oh yeah that actually happened and was not a crazy dream we all had collectively. In conclusion, Matt Painter smells faintly of gasoline and Vince Edwards has an obvious choice. </p>
<p>Michigan's after MS SG <strong>Devin Booker</strong>, of course, and while one suitor probably took itself off the table when Duke took a commitment from big-timer Grayson Allen at Booker's position, Kentucky <a href="http://www.umhoops.com/2013/04/25/recruiting-notebook-devin-booker-adds-kentucky-offer-michigan-coaches-on-the-road/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=recruiting-notebook-devin-booker-adds-kentucky-offer-michigan-coaches-on-the-road">has now offered</a>. Goody.&#160; </p>
<p>Touted 2015 center <strong>Stephen Zimmerman </strong><a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1286745.html">plans a visit</a>, as <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Sedrick-Barefield-Update-127756">does</a>($) CA PG<strong> Sedrick Barefield</strong>. That class is the one in which Michigan's Final Four run should really open up possibilities. It helps with 2014, but the guys they're after are for the most part still the same guys they were after before.</p>
<h3>Who's next, Malcolm Streamers lol zing</h3>
<p align="center"><em><img title="0[1]" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="0[1]" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Thursday-Recruiting-What-Day-Is-It-Again_8A12/01.jpg" width="484" height="274" /></em></p>
<p align="center"><em>I AM TALL ARE YOU TALL CHANTEL IT'S TOUGH TO TELL BECAUSE PEOPLE UP TO EIGHT FEET SHORTER THAN ME ARE STILL TALL SOMETIMES</em></p>
<p>Michigan picked up their tight end in<strong> Ian Bunting</strong>, a 3/4 star tweener at the moment who should rise this fall if he can stay on the field for a change. Bunting has the offer list of a clear top 100 guy (M, ND, OSU, OU, USC, etc.) and enormous skillet-sized hands on a 6'7&quot; frame. There is <a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/hello-ian-bunting">the Hello post</a>;&#160; 247 also <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Breakdown-of-Michigans-latest-commit-tight-end-Ian-Bunting--127840">posted some extra analysis</a>($) after that went up: </p>
<blockquote><p>Similar to Michigan’s Devin Funchess, Bunting should be a great weapon in the red-zone against smaller defenders. Bunting shows strong hands with the ability to extend and pluck the ball out of the air. … I really like Bunting’s burst in and out of his breaks for as tall and long as he is. The ceiling is very high for Bunting, especially being in a very tight end friendly system at Michigan.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I am hyped about Bunting, and I hear the coaches are too. He was the proverbial #1 TE on their board—and a lot of others. </p>
<h3>Actually it's probably Mo Ways</h3>
<p>Ways is on campus as you read this. It's hat-eatin' time if he doesn't commit today. </p>
<h3>And then probably Kyron Watson</h3>
<p><img title="375981_10151664233647034_1932000229_n[1]" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; display: block; padding-right: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="375981_10151664233647034_1932000229_n[1]" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/Thursday-Recruiting-What-Day-Is-It-Again_8A12/375981_10151664233647034_1932000229_n1.jpg" width="409" height="229" /></p>
<p align="center"><em>Kyron Watson </em><a href="http://mgoblog.com/content/unverified-voracity-lifted-heavens"><em>terrifies Alex Anzalone</em></a></p>
<p>IL LB <strong>Kyron Watson</strong> features in a freebie by Allen Trieu in which his coach <a href="http://recruiting.scout.com/2/1286539.html">flat-out states</a> he's a visit away from a commitment: </p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;His top two, I think, honestly are Michigan of course and Kansas. Michigan because it’s Michigan. Kansas, it's because of Reggie Mitchell. He's great recruiter for our type of kids, which I’ll call inner-city kids. … I believe, and I can’t speak for Kyron, but <strong>as soon as he gets a visit to Michigan, I believe he'll walk away committed to them.&quot;</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Pencil that in. The days when Charlie Weis could keep kids from Ann Arbor are long over. As for what kind of player Watson is, your keyword is &quot;violent&quot;:</p>
<blockquote><p>It only takes a play or two of <a href="http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&amp;p=8&amp;c=1&amp;nid=6719345">Kyron Watson</a>'s highlight tape to understand what you're dealing with. The 6'1, 220-pound junior made 142 tackles last season, but it was the three or four at the start of his tape, violent de-cleaters, which immediately caught the eyes of college coaches. …</p>
<p>&quot;He's always been an aggressive kid. Towards the end of year, he began to understand it and blew up in terms of physical contact and meeting them in the hole. He's a special kid. As he grew, the impact of hips became a little more damaging. He came in at like 160-165-pounds. He's 220 now. In two years, he gained basically 60 pounds.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>His best other offers are Missouri, Minnesota, Purdue, Illinois, and MSU; he does have a believer in ESPN.</p>
<h3>And eventually Parrker Westphal</h3>
<p>Sullivan catches up with the guy I invariably call a Todd Howard protégé in a lengthy article that confirms a lot of what we already know about him: ie, that he'll probably commit sooner or later. He's got <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1499253">an interesting top five</a>($) forming: </p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;I told the Michigan coaches that whatever list that I cut down, whether it's a top five or top three, they'll be in it,&quot; he said. I'll make that cut probably the summer. I'm hoping earlier, but we'll see. No [other schools have a spot on that list] so far, but Northwestern and Vanderbilt, they're ranked pretty high because academically and athletically they're pretty good. They'll probably be in it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Always good to see a guy with Vandy and Northwestern as serious options consider M, as those kind of kids are low-attrition sorts that often pick M even when ND, OSU, and Florida are options, as they are for Westphal.</p>
<p>Westphal wants to make a decision before his high school season, which means anyone trying to catch Michigan will have to do so without the opportunity for an official visit.</p>
<p>Also: Westphal talked a lot about how Michigan wants to blitz him, so he may be destined for the nickelback/safety spot that Dymonte Thomas is currently slotted in. </p>
<h3>And then those Paramus guys</h3>
<p>ESPN's Jared Shanker catches up with both. NJ OL <strong>Juwann Bushell-Beatty</strong> had previously declared Michigan his leader and basically confirms that:</p>
<blockquote><p>The Wolverines are in a strong position for the top 10 tackle nationally following the two-day visit earlier this month, which he took with five-star teammate <a href="http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/_/id/163134/jabrill-peppers">Jabrill Peppers</a>.</p>
<p>“It just felt like a lot of what I was looking for,” the four-star said. “Everything felt like a family. The player felt like real guys; the coaches felt like real guys.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>He maintains a top three of M, Boston College, and Florida, and says he has offers from all plus FSU, Miami, and Tennessee. He says he'll probably pull the trigger in the next couple months.</p>
<p>As for NJ CB <strong>Jabrill Peppers</strong>, this is <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/ncfrecruiting/midwest/post?id=10686">a tantalizing headline</a>($) for a guy who just declared Michigan his leader: </p>
<blockquote><h3>Peppers should know future school soon</h3>
</blockquote>
<p>The money quote: </p>
<blockquote><p>“Definitely after I visit Stanford I should have it pretty clear where I want to go,” Peppers said.</p>
<p>The five-star cornerback is coming off April trips to LSU, Michigan and Ohio State, and while Peppers did not tip his hand, people close to the dynamic two-way athlete say Michigan has a sizeable lead of those three. He has listed Stanford as his No. 1 for several months and will visit Palo Alto before officially dropping them from the top of his list.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>HOWEVA, Peppers isn't going to commit after the Stanford visit, at least not publicly. He plans to take a couple of officials after his high school season, at which point he may as well just announce at an All-Star game. Hopefully that'll be one of those anticlimactic ones. </p>
<h3>The Periphery</h3>
<p>Touted DC CB <strong>Jalen Tabor </strong><a href="https://twitter.com/CoachBrown3/status/327276133232033792">visited yesterday</a> as part of a team-wide swing through the Midwest. AZ OL <strong>Casey Tucker </strong><a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1499333">decommits from USC</a>($), may poke around Michigan, doubt we see much come of this. PA S <strong>Montae Nicholson</strong> has <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1499099">many offers</a>($), refreshingly seems to not give two hoots about deciding between them. Michigan is mentioned in a quasi-top eight. </p>
<h3>2015 Stuff</h3>
<p>IL DE <strong>Terry Beckner</strong>, Watson's HS teammate, was <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1498059" target="_blank">one of the best performers</a>($) at the St. Louis Rivals camp:</p>
<blockquote><p>2. DE <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&amp;pr_key=146358">TERRY BECKNER JR.</a>, EAST ST. LOUIS, ILL. (2015)</p>
<p><img align="right" src="http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/880/1396107.gif" />Despite Hendrix's dominating performance on Sunday, his was not a walkaway MVP win because Beckner nearly matched his interconference foe in level of domination. Beckner is an imposing 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds and shows an advanced technical grasp of his position for a sophomore. He plays with great pad level and has exceptionally fast hands. Most impressive was his two-rep win over four-star offensive guard <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=1&amp;pr_key=133903">D.J. Foster</a>, who has been nearly unbeatable in past camps.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Tim Sullivan <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1498059" target="_blank">reports</a>($) that Beckner has an &quot;unofficial offer&quot; that will firm up when the kid gets on campus. His <a href="http://recruiting.scout.com/2/1286539.html">coach</a>: </p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;Terry will be, at some point, this is my early prediction, a top ten player next year. For his age and size, the skill set he has, he’s a very dominant player and will only get better. He gave what they consider a top 100 player, Dewayne Hendrix, a run for his money as being the best guy there at the camp on Sunday. The sky’s the limit. He will even play a little offense this year. Terry, I believe, will be the first five-star at East St. Louis in this era.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Beckner has the local offers: Illinois, Kansas, Mizzou, Purdue, Nebraska. </p>
<p>Touted Mason Cole teammate and FL WR <strong>George Campbell</strong> <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Injury-keeps-East-Lake-2015-ATH-George-Campbell-out-of-action-127944">shrinks to 6'3&quot; in this article</a>—a lot of places list him at 6'5&quot;—in which he talks about the broken hand keeping him out of action and says he's talking to Michigan, Auburn, and A&amp;M. He also went to the Vandy and Florida spring games. </p>
<h3>Etc.</h3>
<p>QB commit <strong>Wilton Speight </strong><a href="https://twitter.com/TimS_Wolverine/status/327414570337595392">picks up a Miami offer</a>.</p>
<a name="more"></a>http://mgoblog.com/content/thursday-recruiting-what-day-it-again-edition#commentsdevin bookerian buntingjabrill peppersjuwann bushell-beattykyron watsonparrker westphalrecruiting roundupterry becknervincent edwardsThu, 25 Apr 2013 15:59:41 +0000Brian78253 at http://mgoblog.comThursday Recruitin' Catches Up On Mind-Blowing Weekhttp://mgoblog.com/content/thursday-recruitin-catches-mind-blowing-week
<p><em>Today&#39;s recruiting roundup attempts to catch on everything that&#39;s gone down in the Michigan recruiting world since last Tuesday, when certain other events precluded any coverage involving high school athletes. </em></p>
<h3>
Schembechler Hall Presumably Now Covered In Brains</h3>
<p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" rel="lightbox" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8522/8639907347_c915c5ddb4_o.png" style="height: 502px; width: 500px;" /><br />
<em>Via <a href="http://instagram.com/p/XsWEHnxKrn/#" target="_blank">Jabrill Peppers&#39; Instagram</a></em></p>
<p>As Michigan&#39;s basketball team made their run to the national title game, the football team hosted some big-time recruiting visitors over the past week. The biggest name on campus was five-star Paramus (NJ) Catholic CB <strong>Jabrill Peppers</strong>, the #2 overall player (behind Da&#39;Shawn Hand) on the Rivals100 and a consensus top-ten recruit. Peppers told Rivals&#39; Adam Friedman that the trip to Ann Arbor <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1492044" target="_blank">was his &quot;best visit&quot;</a>($) and changed his expectations for any school he&#39;ll check out:</p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;Now I don&#39;t even know what to expect anymore,&quot; Peppers laughed. &quot;Michigan just completely exceeded my expectations. I&#39;m just going to have to see how Michigan and Ohio State pair up and it should be a great experience but Michigan was probably one of the best visits I&#39;ve been on without a doubt. Everything felt right.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>According to his interview with 247&#39;s Steve Wiltfong, Peppers <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Jabrill-Peppers-Calls-Michigan-Visit-Mind-Blowing-124891" target="_blank">plans to be back, too</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>&ldquo;All in all, it was a really, really great visit and they exceeded expectations. I definitely didn&rsquo;t think it would be that mind-blowing. I&rsquo;ll definitely have to take a trip back.&rdquo;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Peppers was joined on his visit by Paramus Catholic teammate and four-star OL <strong>Juwann Bushell-Beatty</strong>*&mdash;after the pair checked out Ohio State following the Michigan trip, their high school coach gave the <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1492682" target="_blank">update on where both stand to Friedman</a> ($) [emphasis mine]:</p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;I don&#39;t know about Jabrill,&quot; [Paramus Catholic head coach Chris Partridge] said. &quot;He&#39;s still kind of evaluating everything, and he&#39;s got LSU and Stanford to look at. <strong>I know Juwan&#39;s top school is Michigan right now.</strong> He&#39;s pretty fired up about them. <strong>Ohio State didn&#39;t offer [Bushell-Beatty], so who knows. Jabrill is a pretty loyal guy, so I don&#39;t know if it left a sour taste in his mouth. </strong>I know Juwan loved Michigan and it&#39;s a great fit for him, too.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So Michigan is in the lead for Bushell-Beatty (whom they have offered, to be clear) and made a very strong impression on Peppers, at the very least. The only direct quote from Peppers on his Ohio State trip&mdash;the rest were handled by his coach&mdash;is from <a href="http://ohiostate.247sports.com/Article/Jabrill-Peppers-and-Juwann-Bushell-Beatty-Take-In-Ohio-State-125218" target="_blank">this Wiltfong article</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;I really think that the Coach (Kerry) Coombs is a great coach,&quot; Peppers said. &quot;I love him and enjoy being around him. Obviously Urban Meyer is an incredible, smart, proven winner. They let me meet the athletic director and the president of the school and it&#39;s really cool to see how everyone is behind the Ohio State football team.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>High praise, yes, but not the over-the-moon review that he gave Michigan. Of course, visit reactions often depend on the interviewer, the questions they ask, and what they choose to print&mdash;in this case, however, Wiltfong got two very different post-visit reactions from Peppers. Read into that what you will.</p>
<p>Four-star PA ATH <strong>K.J. Williams</strong> also checked out campus last week, and there&#39;s no need to read between the lines of his post-visit reaction:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Michigan is by far my top school now!! <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23BlewMyMind">#BlewMyMind</a></p>
<p> &mdash; TheWorldsGreatest#2 (@KJWilliams2) <a href="https://twitter.com/KJWilliams2/status/321098609863061504">April 8, 2013</a></p></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><p>Another young mind destroyed by Michigan&#39;s overwhelming recruiting tactics. They show no respect for these recruits, I say. /RCMB&#39;d</p>
<p>Two familar names also made appearances in Ann Arbor. Detroit Country Day WR <strong>Maurice Ways</strong> was there for the second straight weekend and the coaches have him &quot;very high on their radar,&quot; <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1492978" target="_blank">per an interview with Tim Sullivan</a> ($). Ways doesn&#39;t have an offer but it seems like one will come sooner or later&mdash;if he gets one, Michigan should be in the driver&#39;s seat. Meanwhile, Southfield DE <strong>Lawrence Marshall</strong> (offer) <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1281782.html" target="_blank">told GBW&#39;s Josh Newkirk</a>($) that &quot;everything was good&quot; as he checked out a spring practice, and he came away impressed with Frank Clark, who plays the same weakside DE spot that Michigan hopes Marshall will play for them.</p>
<p><em><strong>[Hit THE JUMP for a rundown of Spring Game visitors, a new offer, the latest on Drake Harris, a couple happy trails, and more.]</strong></em></p>
<a name="more"></a><!--break--><!--break--><h3>
Spring Game Visitors</h3>
<p>Culled from multiple outlets, here&#39;s a list of the key uncommitted prospects that plan to take in Saturday&#39;s Spring Game (a large portion of the 2013 class will be there, as will 2014 commits Michael Ferns, Wilton Speight, and Mason Cole):</p>
<ul>
<li>
MI WR <strong>Drake Harris</strong> &mdash; Yep, he&#39;s back again. Worth noting that Harris is <a href="http://www.theonlycolors.com/2013/4/7/4193832/michigan-state-football-recruiting-drake-harris-has-michigan-state-back-in-the-mix" target="_blank">now reconsidering Michigan State</a>, and still maintains no leader among the schools under consideration. He&#39;s certainly become a consistent presence in Ann Arbor, though...</li>
<li>
IL TE <strong>Daniel Helm</strong> &mdash; Helm, who&#39;s beginning to get four-star hype, <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Chatham-IL-2014-tight-end-Daniel-Helm-dishes-on-Michigan--124558" target="_blank">recently told 247</a>($) that Michigan was recruiting him &quot;the hardest&quot; and that he&#39;s considering moving his decision up to the summer, which would be good news for the Wolverines.</li>
<li>
FL WR <strong>Artavis Scott</strong> &mdash; Cole&#39;s high school teammate has moved away from talk of a package deal since Cole&#39;s Michigan commitment, but another trip to campus can&#39;t hurt the Wolverines&#39; chances.</li>
<li>
MI WR <strong>Maurice Ways</strong> &mdash; Ways is currently considered a strong possibility to visit, but has yet to confirm.</li>
<li>
2015 DE/TE <strong>Tyrone Wheatley Jr.</strong> &mdash; While Wheatley, as one would expect, has been to the Big House plenty of times before, this will be his first campus visit since receiving a scholarship offer from the school where his father starred.</li>
<li>
PA LB <strong>Chase Winovich</strong> &mdash; This will be Winovich&#39;s second visit to Ann Arbor, and since his last trip he <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1493906" target="_blank">received a Wolverine offer</a> ($). The three-star plans to make a decision before his senior season and could very well be Michigan&#39;s last linebacker in the class&mdash;the coaches currently plan to take one more to join Ferns.</li>
</ul>
<p>Top in-state DE <strong>Malik McDowell</strong> is also a potential visitor, and 2015 in-state standout <strong>Brian Cole</strong> (offer) is expected to be there, as well [EDIT: There&#39;s a chance Cole will be in Chicago this weekend with the Max Ex 7-on-7 team&mdash;I&#39;ll confirm over the weekend if he made it]. This doesn&#39;t appear to be a weekend for a commitment watch, but Michigan can make progress with several of their top targets.</p>
<h3>
More 2014 News</h3>
<p>Michigan offered three-star IL LB <strong>Kyron Watson</strong> on Tuesday, and while Watson probably won&#39;t be able to attend the Spring Game on short notice, he&#39;s a strong possibility to join the class when he gets a chance to check out Ann Arbor, <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Kyron-Watson-Puts-Michigan-At-The-Top-125691" target="_blank">per Wiltfong</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>Where do the Wolverines stand with the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Watson?</p>
<p>&ldquo;The top,&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>Could a good visit to the Wolverines campus result in a commitment?</p>
<p>&ldquo;Yeah maybe,&rdquo; Watson answered.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Michigan is Watson&#39;s most high-profile offer, though <a href="http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1504925/highlights/36326373" target="_blank">a look at his junior film</a> suggests that may not be the case for long.</p>
<p>Top-100 CA LB <strong>Dwight Williams</strong> has Michigan as the only Midwest school <a href="https://twitter.com/DW7_/status/321806764242788353" target="_blank">in his top 15</a>, and told 247&#39;s Steve Lorenz that the Wolverines have already earned one of his planned official visits&mdash;he&#39;s taken notice of <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Dwight-Williams-to-take-official-visit-to-Michigan-124947" target="_blank">other top prospects&#39; strong impressions of the program</a> ($):</p>
<blockquote><p>Williams has never visited the Wolverines, but has taken notice at the reactions of some of the top recruits in the country such as Jabrill Peppers and Da&#39;Shawn Hand.</p>
<p>&quot;It&#39;s definitely something I notice,&quot; Williams said. &quot;Anytime you see top guys like a school once they go out there, you definitely remember it. It doesn&#39;t make you want to go there, but it makes you want to go out there and see what it&#39;s all about.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another linebacker, FL four-star <strong>Richard Yeargin III</strong>, pulled in an offer from Michigan this week, <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1493469" target="_blank">per Tim Sullivan</a> ($). Yeargin has an impressive offer list that&#39;s still growing&mdash;Notre Dame followed suit two days after U-M&mdash;and plans on making a Signing Day decision.</p>
<p>IL CB <strong>Parrker Westphal</strong> <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Parrker-Westphal-Lining-Up-Wave-Of-Recruiting-Visits-125759" target="_blank">told Wiltfong</a>($) that he&#39;ll be back in Ann Arbor next weekend for an overnight visit&mdash;he&#39;s still a strong possibility to end up in the class.</p>
<h3>
Happy Trails</h3>
<p>You may have noticed the recent spate of linebacker offers. That probably has something to do with OH LB <strong>Kyle Berger</strong>&#39;s <a href="http://www.elevenwarriors.com/2013/04/08/20801/ohio-state-football-recruiting-kyle-berger-commits-to-buckeyes?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ElevenWarriors+%28Eleven+Warriors%29" target="_blank">recent commitment to Ohio State</a>&mdash;Berger&#39;s recruitment came down to a Michigan-OSU battle, and in the end he stuck with his childhood favorite.</p>
<p>Four-star DC CB <strong>D&#39;Andre Payne</strong>, who&#39;d placed Michigan among his top group of schools, <a href="http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1491231" target="_blank">pledged to Tennessee last week</a> ($).</p>
<h3>
MSU (NTMSU) Swag Update</h3>
<p>Now <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football-recruiting/2013/4/10/4207710/college-football-recruiting-letters-mississippi-state" target="_blank">comes in a can</a> for easy consumption.</p>
<p>On a related note&mdash;<a href="http://www.maizenbrew.com/2013/4/6/4190802/michigan-football-coach-brady-hoke-sends-qb-recruit-handwritten-letter" target="_blank">well played, Maize n Brew</a>.</p>
<p>--------------<br />
*The recruiting sites are split on whether Bushell-Beatty&#39;s first name is spelled with one &#39;n&#39; or two. My original tag had two, so until there&#39;s a consensus I&#39;m going with that&mdash;apologies if it turns out to be incorrect.</p>
http://mgoblog.com/content/thursday-recruitin-catches-mind-blowing-week#comments2014 recruiting2015 recruitingchase winovichd'andre paynedaniel helmdrake harrisdwight williamsjabrill peppersjuwann bushell-beattykj williamskyle bergerkyron watsonlawrence marshallmaurice waysrecruiting rounduprichard yeargin iiityrone wheatley jrThu, 11 Apr 2013 19:12:09 +0000Ace77899 at http://mgoblog.comFriday Recruiting Grows Hairhttp://mgoblog.com/content/friday-recruiting-grows-hair
<p><em>Hello. It is Brian doing this. Forgive me if I am redundant, for I have been out of the recruiting recap game for a bit.</em></p>
<h3>
Hello: Mason Cole</h3>
<p align="center"><img alt="265289[1]" border="0" height="229" rel="lightbox" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/FridayRecruiting_9D13/2652891.jpg" title="265289[1]" width="228" /><em><img alt="1368406[1]" border="0" height="229" rel="lightbox" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/FridayRecruiting_9D13/13684061.jpg" title="1368406[1]" width="173" /></em></p>
<p align="center"><em><a href="http://mbighouse.blogspot.com/2013/02/michigan-tuesday-can-grow-some-hair.html" target="_blank">on that jake ryan jam</a>&nbsp;|Tim Sullivan/Rivals.com</em></p>
<p>You may have noticed that FL OL <strong>Mason Cole</strong> pulled the trigger and became the fourth member of Michigan&#39;s 2014 class this week. Cole, a 6&#39;5&quot; kid who&#39;ll need to add weight instead of drop it, is probably destined for guard, and <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/hometeam/blog/east-lakes-mason-cole-picks-michigan/16731/" target="_blank">he&#39;s a quality get</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>The 6-foot-5, 280-pounder, the<em>Times</em>&#39; top recruit for the Class of 2014, has offers from pretty much every major Division I program, including Alabama, Florida, Florida State and Ohio State.</p>
<p>&quot;&#39;I&#39;ve always been partial to the Big Ten,&quot; said Cole, who visited Michigan for the third time this past weekend. &quot;I always knew I wanted to play in that conference and play in the cold weather.</p>
<p>&quot;It&#39;s just made for offensive linemen. It&#39;s smash-mouth football. Linemen are kind of stars up there. I didn&#39;t know any of these people and they already knew my name. The fan base is crazy.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Elsewhere, the Tampa Bay Times notes that he is &quot;<a href="http://www.tampabay.com/hometeam/blog/east-lake-lt-mason-coles-one-part-teddy-bear-one-part-beast/15805/" target="_blank">one part teddy bear, one part beast</a>.&quot; I hope the teddy bear part is his tail.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Ace has been ill this week <strike>but will pop up with a belated Hello post next week;</strike>&nbsp;[EDIT: Oops&nbsp;<a href="" target="_blank">it&#39;s here</a>.] <strike>for now just know that </strike>Cole is probably going to average out around 100th once sites get their rankings down. He&#39;s 107th to Rivals and 62nd to 247 right now, pre-inevitable slide. Magnus <a href="http://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/2013/01/scouting-report-mason-cole.html" target="_blank">compares him to Steve Schilling</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<h3>
In 2016 all Michigan skill players will be 6&#39;8&quot; velcro-man hybrids</h3>
<p>Tight ends! Michigan likes them a lot. They like recruiting them, at least, and presumably they will like throwing to them all the time once they learn how to block and are not oversized wide receivers. Michigan continues scouring the country for anything that looks like a basketball player in pads. They <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1270589.html" target="_blank">currently lead</a>($) for one IL TE <strong>Daniel Helm</strong>:</p>
<blockquote><p>&ldquo;I would say Michigan is leading right now,&rdquo; the 6-foot-5, 220-pound tight end said. &ldquo;If Notre Dame offers, they are definitely up there. I really like their offense because it&rsquo;s pro-style.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Helm is either fuzzy on what pro-style means or pro-style does not necessarily mean anything anymore what with RGIII and Russell Wilson and legions of NFL commentators hilariously failing to recognize the zone read. Anyway, Sam Webb&#39;s Detnews article from last week <a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130221/OPINION03/302210452/1131/rss17" target="_blank">goes into more detail on Helm</a> (and Parrker Westphal):</p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;I know Michigan&#39;s a top-tier school and one of the best universities in the country. The Big House was awesome &mdash; a great venue that would be sweet to play in. Their new indoor field is sweet, academics are superb, and their academic support is very good, as well. So it was great.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Helm, a Rivals250 guy, has Michigan, Nebraska and Tennessee offers already and feels another wave is incoming. Leads when offers are still incoming are more tenuous; sounds like ND is going to be a contender.</p>
<h3>
Drake Harris counts as a velcro-man hybrid</h3>
<p>So. MI WR <strong>Drake Harris</strong>. Michigan State quasi-commit, leaping 6&#39;4&quot; Braylon Edwards receiver guy, kind of nice prospect, would be the last piece of Hoke&#39;s recruiting Voltron if Michigan can nab him from a list of national contenders and also Michigan State. When Harris re-opened his recruitment Michigan didn&#39;t seem to have a place particularly high up on his list, but he&#39;s visited and things are picking up. QB commit Wilton Speight <a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130221/OPINION03/302210452/1131/rss17" target="_blank">is bombing the kid</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>The other player Speight is feeling especially good about is Drake Harris. While he doesn&#39;t necessarily see a decision on the horizon, he does believe the Wolverines are being look upon in a much more favorable light.</p>
<p>&quot;We&#39;ve pretty much talked every day for the past week,&quot; Speight reported. &quot;He&#39;s really high on Michigan. We&#39;ve convinced him &mdash; he&#39;s coming this weekend on the 23rd, a day early with me and Michael on Saturday just to meet the coaching staff for a little bit longer. And he&#39;ll be there Sunday for the (basketball) game (versus Illinois). But it&#39;s been going really well. He&#39;s really liking Michigan more and more. I think the fact that Michael and I are working on him really hard is helping a lot.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The fruit of that work on is seen on the instagram:</p>
<p align="center"><img alt="BD0tqijCQAEv77T.jpg_large_medium[1]" border="0" height="404" rel="lightbox" src="http://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/images/FridayRecruiting_9D13/BD0tqijCQAEv77T.jpg_large_medium1.jpg" title="BD0tqijCQAEv77T.jpg_large_medium[1]" width="304" /></p>
<p>Harris also <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1269691.html" target="_blank">spent some time in the WTKA studio</a> with Sam Webb:</p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u5t1Kb5Ixlw" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>I&#39;m a little confused by the bit where they talk about the number he&#39;s wearing as if it&#39;s #1 when it is in fact #11, but here is the recruiting tool being a recruiting tool, sort of:</p>
<blockquote><p>Said Harris, &ldquo;they told me they haven&rsquo;t had anyone wear the #1 jersey in a while, and they believe I will be the next person to wear it if I come there&hellip; but I will have to earn it.&rdquo;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Gahhhh stupid Braylon endowment thing. Michigan hasn&#39;t had a guy wear #1 since that came into being.</p>
<h3>
Work Done</h3>
<p>Also in last weekend were NC RB <strong>Elijah Hood</strong> and OH LB <strong>Kyle Berger</strong>, both previously longshots heavily favoring rivals Notre Dame and Ohio State, respectively. Hood&#39;s visit got Michigan closer but <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/colleges/michigan/post?id=10528" target="_blank">did not vault them to the top of the list</a>($):</p>
<blockquote><p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a feeling right now,&rdquo; Hood said of Notre Dame. &ldquo;After everything was said and done and I sat home in my room and thought about it, they&rsquo;re still No. 1.&rdquo;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Michigan is second with Ohio State <a href="http://www.themblock.com/2013/02/big-visit-weekend-reactions.html" target="_blank">a seemingly distant third</a> (he told The M Block that OSU was &quot;not the same&quot; as Michigan). With all those visits in the rear-view mirror Michigan wants Hood&#39;s recruitment to string out so they can have time to change his mind.</p>
<p>It is important to acquire Hood because <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1269651.html" target="_blank">he&#39;s got a little bit of Fred Jackson</a>($) in him. He told Scout that OSU&#39;s RB coach was &quot;magnificent&quot; and that &quot;all of those guys are awesome up there&quot; at Michigan. If Michigan acquires Hood we could have a recursive praise-war going on between the two wherein Jackson says Hood is the best back since they combined Gale Sayers with a unicorn and Hood says Jackson is the best running back coach since that one guy who spliced Gale Sayers and a unicorn together.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="http://www.themblock.com/2013/02/big-visit-weekend-reactions.html" target="_blank">Berger</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p><u>LB - Kyle Berger - St. Ignatius High School - Cleveland, OH</u><br />
Berger told me, <b>&quot;I loved my visit.&nbsp; I had a great time spending time with Coach Mattison and seeing all of the facilities.&nbsp; Meeting all of the coaches was great.&quot;&nbsp; </b>The last time Kyle and I spoke he said he wanted to compare Michigan to Ohio State; he had this to say after visiting both schools. <b>&quot;I loved both schools.&nbsp; I had great visits at both places and I could see myself playing at either school.&nbsp; I think it&#39;s going to come down to spring practices and seeing how the coaches coach and all that.&quot;&nbsp; </b><b> </b></p>
</blockquote>
<p>An OZone writer got a similar take with an explicit pecking order, <a href="https://twitter.com/MChungOZone/status/306213847784620032" target="_blank">or lack thereof</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>Kyle Berger had a great visit to Michigan. Says OSU and UM equal. Buckeyes are in a fight with TSUN for Berger.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Berger <a href="http://ohiostate.247sports.com/Article/Will-Linebacker-Kyle-Bergers-Visit-Ohio-State-On-Saturday-119049" target="_blank">wants to decide</a>($) in May; Ohio State is trying to get him up this weekend to defuse the situation.</p>
<h3>
Pass rushers named Lawrence always welcome</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130228/OPINION03/302280461/1131/rss17" target="_blank">Webb&#39;s article this week</a> focuses on MI DE <strong>Lawrence Marshall</strong>, who was momentarily an OSU commitment and is now open. Michigan was SRS about getting his attention:</p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;I literally spent the whole day with Brady Hoke. I was also with Coach Montgomery, Coach Mattison, Coach Jackson. It was one-on-one (attention) the whole day.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That was preceded by an MSU visit; he also returned to EL on the 16th, so they&#39;ll be a real contender in this one. Marshall does mention that Montgomery&#39;s departure is not a big deal:</p>
<blockquote><p>&quot;It really didn&#39;t hurt Michigan&#39;s chances. Coach Mattison would be the guy coaching me. I&#39;d be working directly with him so (Montgomery leaving) was no loss. Coach Mattison, I was with him the whole time. He said I&#39;d be like Terrell Suggs as a rush guy coming off the edge.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>
Miscellaneous</h3>
<p>LA TE <strong>Jacory Washington</strong>, a soft LSU commit, <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1270611.html" target="_blank">plans to visit</a>($) over the summer. Michigan hasn&#39;t gotten anything but sleepers out of LA in a long time and the rest of list is all southern schools.</p>
<p>NJ OL <strong>Juwan Bushell-Beaty</strong> is <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1270195.html" target="_blank">planning a visit in April</a>($). Bushell-Beatty projects as a tackle and is the teammate of mondo prospect <strong>Jabrill Peppers</strong>. CA WR <strong>Juju Smith </strong><a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1270176.html" target="_blank">names a top five</a>($) of M, USC, UCLA, Wisconsin, and Cal.</p>
<a name="more"></a>http://mgoblog.com/content/friday-recruiting-grows-hair#commentsdaniel helmdrake harriselijah hoodjabrill peppersjacory washingtonjuju smithjuwann bushell-beattykyle bergerlawrence marshallmason colerecruiting roundupFri, 01 Mar 2013 17:29:30 +0000Brian76506 at http://mgoblog.comFriday Recruitin' Hears Hoke To CFLhttp://mgoblog.com/content/friday-recruitin-hears-hoke-cfl
<p>Today&#39;s recruiting roundup covers a huge visit weekend, new offers, and more.</p>
<h3>
Big February Visit Weekend Is An Annual Thing, Apparently</h3>
<p class="rtecenter"><img alt="" rel="lightbox" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8366/8498326136_e39775340e_o.jpg" style="height: 285px; width: 539px;" /><br />
<em>Mason Cole</em></p>
<p>It&#39;s that time of the year again, when Michigan rounds up a large group of highly-touted recruits, shows off their program with the coaches and current commits in full-on recruiting mode, and renders me unable to leave my laptop for the weekend. Those hoping for a repeat of last year&#39;s eight-man commitapalooza should temper their expectations, but there&#39;s nothing wrong with getting excited about the talent <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Michigan-Football-Recruiting-Visitors-117790" target="_blank">that will be on campus</a> ($). Here&#39;s a rundown of this weekend&#39;s visitors (all are 2014 prospects unless otherwise noted):</p>
<ul>
<li>
OH LB <strong>Michael Ferns</strong> and VA QB <strong>Wilton Speight</strong> &mdash; Two of Michigan&#39;s three commits&mdash;and the two that have been most active in recruiting other prospects&mdash;will be on campus doing their best Shane Morris impressions. Both have been mentioned by other prospects as doing an impressive job of selling Michigan.</li>
<li>
OH LB <strong>Kyle Berger </strong>&mdash; Berger hails from the same Cleveland St. Ignatius program that produced Jake Ryan, and it could come down to a Michigan/OSU battle for the four-star linebacker.</li>
<li>
FL OL <strong>Mason Cole</strong> &mdash; If a player is going to commit this weekend, it&#39;s probably Cole, a four-star guard who&#39;s already made multiple trips up from Florida. Getting Cole would be big in its own right, and it would also give Michigan the inside track at his high school teammates, four-star WR <strong>Artavis&nbsp;Scott</strong> and 2015 blue-chip ATH <strong>George Campbell</strong>&mdash;both have offers, and Campbell will accompany Cole on this weekend&#39;s visit.</li>
<li>
MI WR <strong>Drake Harris</strong> &mdash; This will be the first visit for Harris since his commitment to Michigan State; he&#39;s since opened up his recruitment after deciding he&#39;ll focus exclusively on football at the next level, though he still remains a soft Spartan verbal. <strong>Wilton Speight</strong> <a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130221/OPINION03/302210452/1131/rss17" target="_blank">told Sam Webb</a> he&#39;s been talking with Harris on a daily basis and convinced him to spend two days on campus this weekend. While Harris doesn&#39;t seem close to making a final decision, a productive visit could move him closer to making a change in his commitment.</li>
<li>
NC RB <strong>Elijah Hood</strong> &mdash; The four-star back had Michigan tied for fifth in his recruitment as of last week, but he&#39;s since updated that list and now has the Wolverines in fourth, <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/ncfrecruiting/on-the-trail/post?id=34082" target="_blank">per ESPN&#39;s Kipp Adams</a> ($). This weekend will be key if Michigan hopes to make up ground on Notre Dame, Hood&#39;s leader, especially since he plans to make a decision before his senior season.</li>
<li>
MI DE <strong>Lawrence Marshall</strong> &mdash; Marshall briefly committed to Ohio State a couple weeks ago before opening up his recruitment after visits to Michigan State and Michigan forced him to reconsider. I&#39;d expect the Southfield four-star end will take a little longer before making another pledge.</li>
<li>
MI DE <strong>Malik McDowell</strong> &mdash; While McDowell has been a familiar face around Ann Arbor, he&#39;s yet to spend a lot of time with the coaches&mdash;that should change this weekend, obviously. McDowell has been mum about his leaderboard, but it&#39;s believed that Michigan and Notre Dame hold an edge over Ohio State and Michigan State, and this will be a chance for the Wolverines to separate themselves from the pack.</li>
<li>
2015 FL ATH <strong>George Campbell</strong> &mdash; As said above, Campbell is teammates at Tarpon Springs (FL) East Lake with Mason Cole and Artavis Scott, and he appears ticketed for five-star status when the 2015 rankings eventually come out. This will be his first visit to Ann Arbor.</li>
<li>
2015 MI ATH <strong>Brian Cole</strong> &mdash; Cole projects to be one of the top athletes in Michigan&#39;s rising junior class and could end up at receiver or defensive back at the next level. The 6&#39;2&quot; product of Saginaw Heritage already holds offers from both Michigan and MSU. This will be his first visit to Ann Arbor.</li>
<li>
2015 OH CB <strong>Shaun Crawford</strong> &mdash; Crawford doesn&#39;t yet hold a Michigan offer, but that didn&#39;t stop him from pegging the Wolverines as his favorites in an <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1268290.html" target="_blank">interview with Scout&#39;s Bill Greene</a> ($). He already holds offers from Illinois and Tennessee and ran an electronic 4.52 40-yard dash at a Nike SPARQ combine last week, so don&#39;t be surprised if Michigan comes through with an offer sooner or later.</li>
</ul>
<p>The only player on this list that can be reasonably expected to commit this weekend is Mason Cole, and that&#39;s by no means a guarantee. As we&#39;ve seen in the past, however, strange things can happen when this many prospects get on campus at the same time.</p>
<p><em><strong>[Hit THE JUMP for the early leading candidate for dumbest rumor of the 2014 cycle, a couple of new offers, and more.]</strong></em></p>
<a name="more"></a><!--break--><!--break--><h3>
LOL</h3>
<p>From a Wilton Speight interview with Sam Webb comes this little <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1267949.html" target="_blank">gem of the recruiting process</a> ($) [emphasis mine]:</p>
<blockquote><p><span class="Bolditalicize">Sam Webb:</span>&nbsp;Who are some of the other guys off the top of your head that maybe you reached out to and have been kind of receptive?</p>
<p><span class="Bolditalicize">Wilton Speight:</span>&nbsp;&ldquo;<a href="http://michigan.scout.com/a.z?s=162&amp;p=8&amp;c=1&amp;nid=5749198">Mason Cole</a>, down in Florida.&nbsp;<a href="http://michigan.scout.com/a.z?s=162&amp;p=8&amp;c=1&amp;nid=6365242">Juju Smith</a>, he and I talk a lot. He really likes Michigan on the education side because he wants to do some stuff with medicine in his studies. Adorree Jackson.&nbsp;<a href="http://michigan.scout.com/a.z?s=162&amp;p=8&amp;c=1&amp;nid=6316582">Joe Mixon</a>&nbsp;-- he&#39;s getting offers from literally everyone this week, but he still has Michigan in his top three, which is good.&nbsp;He and I have been texting a lot. <strong>I&rsquo;ve been trying to get in touch with&nbsp;<a href="http://michigan.scout.com/a.z?s=162&amp;p=8&amp;c=1&amp;nid=5686796">Jabrill Peppers</a>, but he seems kind of hard to get a hold of, and for some reason he thinks that Coach Hoke is going to the NFL, but I think that was set straight and he doesn&rsquo;t think that any more.</strong>&quot;</p>
<p><span class="Bolditalicize">Sam Webb:</span>&nbsp;Where did that come from? Have you talked to him at all about that?</p>
<p><span class="Bolditalicize">Wilton Speight:</span>&nbsp;&ldquo;No, I literally haven&rsquo;t been able to get in touch with him, but there&rsquo;s been rumors that it started coming from&nbsp;<a href="http://ohiostate.scout.com/">Ohio State</a>.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Rumors are just that, rumors, so take all of that with a big ol&#39; grain of salt. That said: LOL.</p>
<p>(Also, if it&#39;s true that <strong>Joe Mixon</strong>&mdash;four-star RB from the Bay Area&mdash;has Michigan in his top three, that&#39;s big news; he may be the top back on Michigan&#39;s board and has been piling up big-time offers lately.)</p>
<h3>
Offers And More</h3>
<p>Michigan is one of many schools to recently offer LA WR <strong>Malachi Dupre</strong>, one of the best wide receivers (and best names) in the 2014 class, <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1268420.html" target="_blank">per Scout&#39;s Chad Simmons</a> ($). This seems like a longshot at best&mdash;pulling a top-flight player out of Louisiana is one of the taller tasks for any school, let alone one that experiences several months of snow.</p>
<p>Also receiving an offer is four-star NJ OL <strong>Juwann Bushell-Beatty</strong>, who tells 247&#39;s Steve Wiltfong that he <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Michigan-Offers-Juwann-Bushell-Beatty-117456" target="_blank">plans to visit campus in April</a> ($).</p>
<p>One of the top tackles in the class, NC OL <strong>Bentley Spain</strong>, has narrowed his list to six schools&mdash;LSU,&nbsp;Michigan,&nbsp;North Carolina,&nbsp;South Carolina,&nbsp;Stanford, and&nbsp;Virginia&mdash;<a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1268556.html" target="_blank">per Scout&#39;s Michael Clark</a> ($). Spain plans a spring decision and says he won&#39;t do any more interviews until he makes a commitment; don&#39;t expect him to land at Michigan unless he visits before making his choice.</p>
<p>GA LB <strong>Bryson Allen-Williams</strong> <a href="http://michigan.247sports.com/Article/Bryson-Allen-Williams-Michigan-Wolverines-117542" target="_blank">tells Steve Lorenz</a>($) that he&#39;d like to visit Michigan&mdash;a school his mom &quot;loves&quot;&mdash;but that they&#39;re currently trailing South Carolina (his leader), Georgia, and Alabama. Allen-Williams picked up an offer from the Wolverines last week.</p>
<p>2015 Cass Tech prospects DE<strong> Joshua Alabi</strong> and RB <strong>Mike Weber</strong> tell Scout&#39;s Kyle Bogenshutz that Michigan is the &quot;top school&quot; <a href="http://michigan.scout.com/2/1268466.html" target="_blank">for each of them</a> ($). Both hold Michigan offers after impressive sophomore seasons for the reigning back-to-back state champs.</p>
<p>2014 five-star VA S <strong>Quin Blanding</strong> will announce his decision on February 27th, <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/colleges/michigan/post?id=10398" target="_blank">per ESPN&#39;s Corey Dowlar </a>($). &nbsp;While Michigan is in Blanding&#39;s top ten, he&#39;s expected to end up at Virginia&mdash;the chances of him picking the Wolverines are slim-to-none.</p>
<h3>
Brilliant</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.cornnation.com/2013/2/20/3997862/ron-zook-an-ideal-choice-for-new-nebraska-football-recruiting-guru" target="_blank">Seriously</a>.</p>
http://mgoblog.com/content/friday-recruitin-hears-hoke-cfl#comments2014 recruiting2015 recruitingbentley spainbrian colebryson allen-williamsdrake harriselijah hoodgeorge campbelljoshua alabijuwann bushell-beattykyle bergerlawrence marshallmalachi dupremalik mcdowellmason colemike weberquin blandingrecruiting roundupshaun crawfordwilton speightFri, 22 Feb 2013 17:23:24 +0000Ace76341 at http://mgoblog.com